Cycling: The starts on Friday 101th Giro d'Italia. From May 4th to 27th the pros will be out and about. It leads the route from Jerusalem to Rome. 22 teams, each with eight drivers, tackle the tough three weeks. We take a look at all the teams and all the riders ahead of the start of the Tour of Italy. In the first of three parts, we devote ourselves to those Giro d'Italia teams that mainly focus on the overall standings.
Giro d'Italia 2018: These 7 underdogs want to be on the podium
Sunweb: All for one
The roles are clearly assigned in Team Sunweb. With Tom Dumoulin the German team has last year's winner in its own ranks. Even if the Dutchman himself says that he doesn't see the mission as defending his title, but simply as another attempt to win, the goal is clearly formulated. However, the profile of the route does not exactly suit Dumoulin, as the time trial world champion can only cycle a few kilometers in the fight against the clock. In the mountains he will be dependent on the help of his comrades. His compatriots are particularly important in this context Sam Oomen and the experienced Laurens Ten Dam. The eight-man squad is completed by Roy Curvers, Chad Haga, Chris Hamilton, Lennard Hofstede and Louis Vervaeke. All in all, certainly not one of the strongest Giro d'Italia teams for the high mountains, but Dumoulin didn't have a climbing team at his side in 2017 either - and still won.
Astana: The strengths of the team are uphill
The Kazakh team Astana has been one of the most active in the peloton for years. This is one of the reasons why we can already boast countless victories in the current season. Now this series of successes should also continue at the Giro d'Italia. As a clear captain became Miguel Angel Lopez nominated. The Colombian is only 24 years old, but he already won two stages at the Vuelta a Espana last year and finished eighth overall. In the Tour of Italy he should now even compete for overall victory. Since his weaknesses are in time trials, he will have to make up time on his opponents uphill. That's why the managers of Astana put numerous top climbers at his side. Luis Leon Sanchez At 34 years of age, he stands for pure experience and can do important helper services in the high mountains. This also applies to Davide Villella, Tanel Kangert, Jan Hirt and Pello Bilbao, all of whom could target the top 10 themselves. The Kazakhs are good for one or the other escape group alexey lutsenko and Andrey Zeits.
BMC: The captain is the biggest uncertainty factor
Rohan Dennis is the name of the captain in the BMC team. The Australian was previously better known as a time trialist. In 2015 he held the world hour record. He has also been Australian Time Trial Champion several times. Dennis has been trying to be a classification driver for some time, but so far this has been more or less successful. He couldn't finish his last three Grand Tours. After all, it went better on one-week tours. However, it is questionable whether Dennis can actually ride at the front of the Giro d'Italia over three weeks. Therefore, Team BMC must be versatile in order to be able to target alternative targets. Alessandro De Marchi, Kilian Frankiny and Nicholas Roche, for example, are first-class helpers for the mountains, but can also go on stage hunts themselves in mountainous terrain if necessary. Rather intended for the level - and maybe even one or the other mass sprint Jurgen Roelandts and Jean Pierre Drucker. While the almost 36-year-old Francisco José Ventoso provides the necessary experience, the only 24-year-old Loic Vliegen brings fresh blood to the squad.
Groupama-FDJ: It should be the podium
While the Pinot Noir is already well known in France, Groupama-FDJ fans are now hoping for a Pinot Rose. Then Thibaut Pinot reaches for the Maglia Rosa for the second time in a row. Last year, the French climbing specialist just missed the podium with fourth place. Due to his good condition, one can be quite optimistic about an improvement in the Giro d'Italia 2018. After all, Pinot won the Tour of the Alps just a few days ago. To make the dream of overall victory come true, the French team has put together a powerful squad. The Swiss will be particularly helpful in the mountains Steve Morabito and Sebastien Reichenbach, as well as the Austrian Georg Preidler and the French Anthony Roux and Jérémy Roy. On the plain, Matthieu Ladagnous and William Bonnet will provide protection.
Mitchelton-Scott: More than a spearhead
The captain in the Mitchelton-Scott team can only be clearly determined by number. Stephen Chaves wears the 111 and is therefore the official leader for the Tour of Italy. In addition to the Colombian, the Australian team can also perform Simon yates and Mikel Nieve build. The Brit and the Spaniard are also strong in the mountains, so as is so often the case, Mitchelton-Scott will not only have one trump card to play, but at least those three. Of course, this enables tactical gimmicks, which the sports directors have often known how to exploit. The strong team is completed by the experienced professionals Roman Kreuziger and Svein Tuft, as well as Christopher Juul Jensen, Jack Haig and Sam Bewley. In general, Mitchelton-Scott is not a team that follows a strict strategy of descendants - such as Sky - but prefers to become active themselves and send drivers on the offensive. Overall, Mitchelton-Scott is definitely not one of the weaker Giro d'Italia teams.
Sky: Only the Maglia Rosa counts
Team Sky is one of the favorites in almost every race. However, the Giro d'Italia was seldom considered an important event for the British team. But in 2018 everything is different. First time since Chris Froome one of the stars of the scene, he is at the start of the Tour of Italy. The squad of the Sky team was put together around him – and a strong one, as usual. The most important men at his side are probably Wout poels and Sergio Henao, but David de la Cruz, Kenny Elissonde and Vasil Kiryienka can also maintain a consistently high pace in the mountains to defend their lead and thwart attacks by their competitors. The Italian Salvatore Puccio and the German Christian Knees complete the Sky squad. In Italy, however, Froome will not only fight against the other strong climbers and time trialists, but he will also have to hope for a positive decision from cycling policy. Because after his Salbutamol affair, a subsequent ban is not unlikely.
UAE Team Emirates: Not only the overall standings in view
Even if the UAE Team Emirates with Fabio Arau has a hot candidate for overall victory in its own ranks, the sporting directors are not just relying on the Italian. The squad is far too strong, the team will have to go on the offensive far too much one way or another. Because Fabio Aru doesn't like time trials, so he has to do something in the mountains. His team is perfect for that. An offensive driving style suits Darwin Atapuma as well as Valerio Conti and Jan Polanc. Especially the hilly arrivals could be something for Diego Ulissi be. Vegard Stake Laengen, Marco Marcato and Manuele Mori, on the other hand, will probably be used on the initial kilometers and on rather easier terrain. Even if the focus is of course on the Maglia Rosa for Fabio Aru, the UAE Team Emirates will take an active part in the Giro d'Italia and also aim for stage wins.
