The 2015 Giro d'Italia route presentation(Image credit: Lapresse)
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) crashed during stage 6 but is ready to start the stage 7 finale
Richie Porte (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The trophy that Nairo Quintana has been waiting for three weeks for(Image credit: Sirotti)
Fabio Aru (Astana)
Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R - La Mondiale) on the podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-QuickStep)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Leopold König (Team Sky)(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Ryder Hesjedal (Cannondale-Garmin) has a dig(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre - Merida)(Image credit: Luca Bettini)
Darwin Atapuma (BMC Racing Team)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Soudal)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The first Grand Tour of the year, the Giro d'Italia, begins this weekend with a team time trial to San Remo. This year's race is not as mountainous as its predecessor but a tough final week with three summit finishes will be the deciding factor in the title hunt.
Defending champion Nairo Quintana won't be on the start line but there'll be plenty of competition for the maglia rosa.
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) has made his intentions clear as he goes for the Giro-Tour double this season. Contador has been consistent so far this season but appears to be biding his time ahead of this big feat.
Richie Porte (Team Sky) looks like his toughest challenger for the overall title after a superb start to the season. Porte finished seventh at the 2010 Giro d'Italia and was due to lead Team Sky at least year's race until illness forced him to make changes to his schedule.
Watch the below video to see who else we've picked as our riders to watch for the 2015 Giro d'Italia. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel, click here.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
