Cycling: Kazakhstan's UCI WorldTeam Astana has announced that just eight riders have been nominated for Friday's Giro d'Italia. The team is thus honoring the late Michele Scarponi, who was originally intended to be the captain for this Grand Tour.
Alexander Vinokourov: “Michele would have been our captain. That's why we refrain from nominating a driver in his place. The start number intended for him remains free. Every day at the Giro and all the other races, Michele will be with us. We will drive for him. I think this is the right decision. I'm sure that the Giro organizers and the entire cycling world will understand and accept this."
The full Astana Pro Team line-up for the 2017 Giro d'Italia consists of Pello Bilbao, Zhandos Bizhigitov, Dario Cataldo, Jesper Hansen, Tanel Kangert, Luis Leon Sanchez, Paolo Tiralongo and Andrey Zeits.