The Spring Classics are now run and done and the most exciting time of the year for cycling fans, the Grand Tour season, kicks off this Saturday with the Giro d’Italia.
Who will start the season off with a bang and take home this year’s Maglia Rosa?
In no particular order, here are the 2015 Giro contenders:
Richie Porte (Team Sky)
Less than a week out from the start of the Giro d’Italia, Australia’s best Grand Tour hope and long-time Sky bridesmaid Richie Porte is in the form of his life.
So far this year Porte has scorched his way to overall honours at Paris-Nice, Volta a Catalunya and the Giro del Trentino, blowing away other top general classification riders in the process. He also claimed the Australian National Time Trial Championship and second at the Tour Down Under.
While Porte is the form man heading into the race, can he keep the fire raging?
In Grand Tours past Porte has looked impressive in the early stages before losing his way just days later, hemorrhaging time through illness, crashes or just plain bad luck.
Leading Team Sky at a Grand Tour is the fulfillment of a long-term goal for the Tasmanian and his chance of winning will hinge on his ability to take up the mantle of team leader and string together the kind of consistent performance that mark a true GC champion.
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo)
‘El Pistolero’ comes to the 2015 Giro hoping to make history by becoming the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Tour de France and Giro in the same year.
With six Grand Tour wins to his name, Contador has more GC silverware than everyone else in the field combined, and is the deserved favourite.
While he may not be quite as zippy as he was when he was younger, with experience has come an acute tactical awareness and the ability to simply grind riders off his wheel.
But is the Giro/Tour double just too much for a modern rider?
The ambitious, ‘death or glory’ schedule is undoubtedly a chance for Contador to cement his legacy as the greatest rider of this generation, but he has failed at this challenge once before in 2011, when he faded significantly at the end of the Tour. The danger this year is coming into the Giro under-prepared so as to not repeat 2011’s mistakes.
He will need a big effort from his team early to protect him as he eases into the race, but watch for him to come into his own in the final week’s mountain stages.
Rigeberto Uran (Etixx-Quick Step)
Runner-up of the last two Giros, somewhat controversially last year, Uran comes to the 2015 Giro hungry to make the final step up to Grand Tour champion.
The Colombian all-rounder will benefit from an unusually balanced course at this year’s Giro which features far less mountains than normal, two time trials, one team and one individual.
He also gets to race knowing that unlike Porte and Contador, he will be at home resting come July’s Tour de France.
The key for Uran will be sticking with, or at least minimising, any gaps to the other contenders in the big mountain stages so he can maximise his advantage when Stage 14’s gruelling 59 kilometre individual time trial rolls around.
Fabio Aru (Astana)
The 24-year-old Italian will be carrying the hopes of the home crowd as he attempts to take up the mantle of teammate and countryman Vincenzo Nibali, who won the Maglia Rosa in 2013.
Aru burst onto the scene last year, placing third at the 2014 Giro and riding the likes of Chris Froome and Contador off his wheel on the way to two stage wins and fifth overall at the Vuelta a Espana.
Aru’s explosive climbing abilities will make him a man to watch in the mountains, where he could potentially light the race up, but the Stage 14 time trial could prove a stretch too far for the young rider, who has yet to show he can match it against the clock on the flats.
Other Contenders
Domenico Pozovivo (Ag2r-Le Mondiale) is the other Italian hope for the race and has the form to match. He may well delight the home fans with a stage win or two come the mountain stages. He could be the surprise packet of the 2015 race.
Another rider who could benefit from stage 14’s long time trial is Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto-Soudal). He has placed top 10 at a number of Grand Tours but he will need to avoid the bad luck that seems to have dogged him at so many of these races.
Lastly, you would be crazy to write off 2012 champion Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin), he always seems to pop up when you least expect it and will be looking to make the most of one of his last chances as a GC team leader.
The Roar will be offering live coverage of every stage, but over to you now: who do you think will take out the 2015 Giro d’Italia?
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