Friday 5 May 2017 11:52, UK
The 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia gets underway on Friday and it's primed to be a thrilling three weeks of racing.
The 3,572km course from Sardinia to Milan includes six mountain top finishes and two testing time trials, with a talent-packed field vying for the coveted pink jersey.
Here we preview the first Grand Tour of 2017...
Colombian climbing ace Nairo Quintana goes into the race as clear favourite and that will be no surprise to anyone who saw his impressive Vuelta a Espana win last year. The Movistar leader bounced back from an illness-affected third-place finish at the Tour de France to beat Chris Froome in the final Grand Tour of 2016 and goes into the Giro on the back of encouraging early season results.
Quintana - who won the 2014 race - is plotting to become the first rider since 1998 to claim the Giro-Tour double but there are a number of rivals aiming to deny him the first part of that challenge.
Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) will certainly push Quintana all the way and his incredible comeback victory in the final days of last year's Giro means he cannot be written off, even if he is trailing in the third week.
Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk (Lotto NL-Jumbo) was leading last year's race until a dramatic crash took him out of contention, so he'll be highly motivated to finish what he started in 2016, while Team Sky duo Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa will be staging a two-pronged attack for the British team.
Another Dutch rider, Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), and France's Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) have shown they can mix it with the best in three-week races, while Brit Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) and Russia's Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) have the climbing ability to spring a surprise.
USA's Tejay van Garderen (BMC) will also be on a start line which features a long list of contenders.
Stage four: After three days on Sardinia the riders have an early rest day on Monday but are then faced with the first mountain top finish of the race up Mount Etna. It will be the first test for the overall contenders and, coming so early in the race, has the potential to catch a few riders out.
Stage nine: The first full week of racing will climax with the 13.5km ascent of the daunting Blockhaus. With ramps reaching 14 per cent, the gruelling finale to stage nine will shake up the general classification standings - and see the genuine title contenders come to the fore.
Stage 16: This is set to be one of the iconic stages of the 2017 Giro, with two different ascents up the famous Stelvio switchbacks before a dramatic drop down to Bormio. That comes after a climb of the infamous Mortirolo, which will honour 2011 winner Michele Scarponi, the Italian cyclist who tragically died in a training crash last month.
Stage 18: A day sure to have a big say on who claims the overall title. There are five tough climbs squeezed into just 137km which will make for an action-packed stage, perfectly designed for attacks.
Stage 20: This will be the final chance for any overall contenders who didn't get what they wanted on the previous day's final summit finish at Piancavallo. Monte Grappa, midway through the stage, provides the platform for a daring long-range assault.
The pink jersey: general classification
The blue jersey: mountains classification
The white jersey: best young rider
The red jersey: points classification
Ag2r-La Mondiale (Fra)
Astana (Kaz)
Bahrain-Merida (Brn)
BMC Racing (US)
Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)
Cannondale-Drapac (US)
Dimension Data (SA)
FDJ (Fra)
Katusha-Alpecin (Swi)
Lotto-Soudal (Bel)
Lotto NL-Jumbo (Hol)
Movistar (Spa)
Orica-Scott (Aus)
Quick-Step Floors (Bel)
Team Sky (GB)
Trek-Segafredo (US)
Sunweb (Hol)
UAE Team Emirates (UAE)
Bardiani-CSF (Ita)
Gazprom-Rusvelo (Rus)
CCC Sprandi (Pol)
Wilier-Selle Italia (Ita)
- 2016: Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
- 2015: Alberto Contador (Spa)
- 2014: Nairo Quintana (Col)
- 2013: Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
- 2012: Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
- 2011: Michele Scarponi (Ita)
- 2010: Ivan Basso (Ita)
- 2009: Denis Menchov (Rus)
- 2008: Alberto Contador (Spa)
- 2007: Danilo Di Luca (Ita)
