Giro d'Italia 2017: Five riders to watch

The 100th Giro d'Italia kicks off on Friday and we've picked out five riders to keep an eye on during the three-week Grand Tour..

Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

Colombian climbing sensation Nairo Quintana is aiming to become the first rider since 1998 to complete a Giro-Tour double in the same season - and the bookies have made him favourite to achieve the first part of that challenge in Italy this month. The 27-year-old won the Giro on his first attempt in 2014 and is back for a second time to take on a favourable course. Illness hampered Quintana's Tour de France challenge last summer, limiting him to a third-place finish, but he bounced back to win the Vuelta ahead of Chris Froome later in the season. A win at the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico this year suggests he's primed to add another Grand Tour to his collection.

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida)

Italian hope Vincenzo Nibali produced a stunning comeback in the final days of last year's Giro to take his second pink jersey and he returns - albeit with a new team after leaving Astana - to defend his title this month. The 2014 Tour de France winner warmed up for this race with a low-key Tour of Croatia victory and will hope his experience and familiarity with the course will give him the edge over his rivals over the next three weeks.

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)

After spending the majority of his road racing career working in support of others, two-time Olympic team pursuit champion Geraint Thomas is finally handed leadership duties at a Grand Tour. The Welshman will co-lead Team Sky's charge with Mikel Landa, who finished third at the 2015 Giro. Thomas has shown he can compete in one-week races, winning the 2016 Paris-Nice and this season's Tour of the Alps - but can he sustain those levels for three weeks? Thomas was sat fourth overall in the final week of the 2015 Tour before slipping away and he repeated his 15th place finish in France last summer as a protected rider. Sky will be expecting more from the 30-year-old in Italy.

Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

Not to be confused with his Grand Tour stage-winning brother Simon, who recently finished second at the Tour de Romandie, Adam goes into the Giro d'Italia with the potential to cause an upset. He produced a stunning performance at the 2016 Tour de France, claiming the young rider prize and fourth overall, and could be in contention for a podium spot in Italy. After encouraging early season form, including a top-10 finish at the hilly one-day classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the 24 -year-old will be aiming to pull off another impressive Grand Tour performance.

Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott)

As well as its mountainous challenges, the Giro also offers up opportunities for the fast men - and the diminutive but rapid Australian Caleb Ewan will be one to look out for in the sprints. The 22-year-old has picked up four stages at the Tour Down Under, a top-10 finish at Milan-San Remo and the points classification at the Tour de Yorkshire already this season and will be expected to add to his first and so far only Grand Tour stage at the 2015 Vuelta. His unique, crouched-over-the-handlebars sprinting style gives him an aerodynamic edge and his pace in the final straights could see him collect a number of wins in the first two weeks.