Giro d'Italia: Giro d'Italia 2017 Preview: 3 Swiss, 4 German & 5 Austrians

Cycling: The 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia 2017 must of course not take place without them: the drivers from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. A total of twelve drivers from these three countries will be at the start on Friday. What start numbers, tasks and opportunities do they have?

Without stars: Bora-hansgrohe goes hunting for stages in Italy

With the Giro d'Italia 2017, the Bora-hansgrohe team will contest its first Grand Tour as a WorldTour team. Before the start of the season, German cycling fans were amazed when the new purchases were announced. World champion Peter Sagan, Tour de France mountain king Rafal Majka and classification driver Leopold König have been signed. Unfortunately, none of these three top drivers will be at the start of the Tour of Italy. Nevertheless, Ralph Denk believes his troupe is capable of a successful tour. With the Italian Matteo Pelucchi and the Irishman Sam Bennett, two strong sprinters have been nominated. Jan Barta, Cesare Benedetti and José Joao Pimenta should help to achieve the goals as well as the German Rüdiger Selig and the three Austrians Patrick Konrad, Gregor Mühlberger and Lukas Pöstlberger.

It is certainly to be expected that the German team Bora-hansgrohe will not play a significant role in the overall standings at the Giro d'Italia 2017 without Majka and König. Therefore, the team focuses on stage wins. A serious word can be had with Bennett and Pelucchi in the mass sprints. Bennett, for example, won that earlier this year Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and the pioneering 3rd stage from Paris-Nice. Rüdiger Selig will be at the side of the two as a driver. Lukas Postlberger – after all, fifth at E3 Prijs Harelbeke - and Gregor Muehlberger also have their strengths on the level, which is why they should be used for the chases on breakaways. In the case of sections that are flat or slightly wavy, it cannot be ruled out that you will be allowed to go in a group yourself. Patrick Conrad however, is considered a good climber. If he manages to jump into a strong group, he can ensure success in the mountains.

Sunweb dances at several weddings at the 2017 Giro d'Italia

In contrast to Bora-hansgrohe, the second German team at the Giro d'Italia 2017 wants a serious word in the Overall rating have a say Sunweb didn't nominate Tom Dumoulin for nothing. The Dutchman won the 9st stage and the pioneering 13st stage the Tour de France last year. So far this season he has held back with top results. Sixth place at Tirreno-Adriatico and third place at the Abu Dhabi Tour are the most noteworthy results. Nevertheless, the German team would like to get on the podium with him. He is supported by his compatriots Wilco Kelderman, Tom Stamsnijder and Laurens Ten Dam as well as the American Chad Haga, the Norwegian Sindre Skjoestad, the Austrian Georg Preidler and the two Germans Simon Geschke and Phil Bauhaus.

Phil Bauhaus will have a special role this year. He is considered the best sprinter of the nine-man squad. Even if he has not yet been able to celebrate any great successes, the 22-year-old is quite capable of taking the next step. No one expects that he will immediately win his first Grand Tour. Simon Geschke on the other hand, is definitely good for a triumph. After all, the 31-year-old has ridden one or the other Grand Tour in his career. We will see him in a breakaway during the three weeks. If things go perfectly, he ensures a win like on the Stage 17 of the 2015 Tour de France. The Austrian Georg preidler will be one of Tom Dumoulin's main helpers at the 2017 Giro d'Italia in the mountains. If the Dutchman needs it, he will probably not get a free ride. If he is let off the leash as a potential stage winner, it will probably be in the mountains.

Our lone fighters at the Giro d'Italia 2017: helpers & stage chasers

In addition to the German-speaking drivers in two German teams, there are five more spread out in the field. The Austrian Felix Grossschartner will compete in his first Grand Tour in his orange jersey of the CCC Sprandi Polkowice team. In the run-up to the Tour of Italy, the 23-year-old was in excellent shape. At the Tour of Croatia he finished fourth. At the Giro d'Italia 2017, he will probably not compete in the overall rankings, but instead go hunting for stages. In hilly or even mountainous terrain, we will therefore certainly find him from time to time in a leading group. The 26-year-old Swiss Sylvan Dillier will probably hold back with attacks. He has already driven the Tour of Italy twice and the Tour of Spain once and can be described as a classic helper. His calm riding will keep his captain Tejay Van Garderen out of the wind at the 2017 Giro d'Italia.

The two Swiss Steve Morabito and Sebastien Reichenbach drive for the French team FDJ. There they were nominated alongside Thibaut Pinot. The Frenchman wants to finish on the podium at the Giro d'Italia. The two Swiss should help. Like Reichenbach, Morabito is considered a strong climber. Should Team FDJ need a relay station in the mountains, we'll definitely see at least one of them in the attack. We often see it in the last meters Andre Greipel. The German sprint ace drives for the Belgian team Lotto Soudal. There he will be the captain for the flat sections in the Giro d'Italia 2017. Greipel will be one of the favorites at the start on every flat stage. He won the Tour of Italy last year 5st stage, the 7st stage and 12th part. He will probably also drop out early at the 2017 Giro d'Italia.