Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) at the Giro team presentation(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) on stage at the Giro presentation(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The stars were shining Thursday night for the 2019 Giro d'Italia team presentation in Bologna, with the stunning Piazza Maggiore setting the backdrop as race organisers introduced the crowd to the teams and riders that will battle for supremacy on the roads of Italy over the next three weeks.
Defending champion Chris Froome wasn't on hand, but he sent a young Team Ineos squad in his place that, although missing designated leader Egan Bernal to a training crash injury, promises to light up the race with youthful enthusiasm.
Former Giro winners Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) were crowd favourites at the presentation, as was Decenuninck-QuickStep sprinter Elia Viviani in his vertically striped tricolour Italian champion's jersey that was unveiled especially for the Giro.
Primoz Roglic and Jumbo-Visma spent some time admiring their celeste green Bianchi race machine, while Mikel Landa brought his phone along to memorialise the event for himself and his Movistar teammates. Astana showed off pre-race favourite Miguel Angel Lopez, while Lotto Soudal shined a spotlight on new UCI Hour Record holder Victor Campanaerts.
Simon Yates and Esteban Chaves represented for Mitchelton-Scott, while Rafal Majka led Bora-Hansgrohe onto the stage with Davide Formolo and Pascal Ackermann. Fernando Gaviria's new 'Wolverine' facial hair was a hit with the crowd as the UAE Team Emirates sprinter made his way onto stage with his bike.
Click or swipe through the gallery above to see who else was under the spotlight in Bologna during the 2019 Giro d'Italia team presentation.
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