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Preview: Giro Teams Discuss Their Chances

The Giro is nearly here. We’ve already shared INEOS’s team, who are our favorites to win the overall (though far from our favorites in the other sense of the word). Now it’s time for some more.

AG2R La Mondiale

“We’ll arrive at the start of this autumnal Giro d’Italia with desire and determination. We will trust in the younger riders like Jaakko Hänninen and Aurélien Paret-Peintre, who will both celebrate their first participation in a Grand Tour. The latter will start off without being under any pressure, but will have the ambition to aim for the best possible overall classification. The two riders will be able to rely on experienced guys like Tony Gallopin, Larry Warbasse and Ben Gastauer. I am not forgetting Geoffrey Bouchard, who stood out last year at the Vuelta a Espana, and François Bidard, who is getting closer and closer to a great victory. Andrea Vendrame has been getting very good results regularly this season, and he will be our go-to puncheur. He will aim to get good results and even take a stage victory” – Laurent Biondi

  • Tony Gallopin
  • Francois Bidard
  • Geoffrey Bouchard
  • Ben Gastauer
  • Jaakko Hanninen
  • Aurelien Paret-Peintre
  • Andrea Vendrame
  • Larry Warbasse

Trek-Segafredo

“We had announced 2020 as a turning point in our approach to the Grand Tours. Porte’s third place in the Tour de France was tangible proof of our renewed ambition for the general classifications. The Giro d’Italia can become our consecration,” said general manager Luca Guercilena.

“As we have never done so far in a Grand Tour, for this Giro we decided to build a team around a single rider, Vincenzo Nibali, with the sole objective of pursuing the dream of the Maglia Rosa. We’ve selected a compact group focused on the challenge for the general classification, and it will be the motif of our race. We have great confidence in Vincenzo’s skills, experience, personality, and professionalism. And, of course, we are equally confident that his teammates will give more than one hundred percent to help him win.”

  • Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
  • Giulio Ciccone (ITA)
  • Gianluca Brambilla (ITA)
  • Pieter Weening (NED)
  • Julien Bernard (FRA)
  • Jacopo Mosca (ITA)
  • Nicola Conci (ITA)
  • Antonio Nibali (ITA)

UAE Team Emirates

Matxin Fernandez (Manager) : “This team was put together with various considerations in mind. We want to give young Brandon McNulty a chance to shine and see what he can do, but without any pressure or concrete goals other that to give his best. We have Diego Ulissi and Valerio Conti as our trusted veterans who will have freedom to move and both know what it takes to win at the Giro. Mikkel Bjerg will slot in to help Fernando Gaviria go for wins and work with Richeze and Molano as part of the train for the fact finishes. Bjerg will also get his chances in the time trials along with McNulty who is also fast against the clock”

  • Brandon McNulty (USA)
  • Fernando Gaviria (Col)
  • Max Richeze (Arg)
  • Joe Dombrowski (USA)
  • Sebastian Molano (Col)
  • Diego Ulissi (Ita)
  • Valerio Conti (Ita)
  • Mikkel Bjerg (Den)

Israel Startup Nation

Sports Director Nicki Sörensen is sure this line-up will be able to go for a stage win. “That’s the main goal,” he said, “and Barbier and Cimolai are our best riders to achieve it. Navarro will be our leader in the mountains. Next to the flat stages, there are a few days which are particularly interesting for us to get into the breakaway of the day. I expect aggressive racing on the climbs this Giro.”

  • Barbier, Rudy
  • Brändle, Matthias
  • Cataford, Alex
  • Cimolai, Davide
  • Dowsett, Alex
  • Navarro, Daniel
  • Sagiv, Guy
  • Zabel, Rick

CCC Team

“We are lining up at the Giro d’Italia with a mix of experienced riders and Grand Tour debutants with our primary focus on stage wins. We have Ilnur Zakarin leading the team so we will keep an eye on the General Classification but this will be Ilnur’s first race back since his crash at the Tour de France so we will be conservative in our approach. Of course, Ilnur won a stage at last year’s Giro d’Italia so we are aiming to repeat his success again this year.” Lead Sports Director Gabriele Missaglia.

  • Zakarin, Ilnur
  • Cerný, Josef
  • De La Parte, Víctor
  • Gradek, Kamil
  • Kochetkov, Pavel
  • Małecki, Kamil
  • Rosskopf, Joey
  • Valter, Attila

EF Education First

“To race in a great tour means facing an adventure of three weeks full of experiences to share with a group that will try to excite the race and themselves in the process. Ours is a team dedicated to attack, a group that will have to exploit and seek opportunities day after day not only with calculations and strategies but also with the heart and the desire to emerge.  We are motivated and we will not dwell on any pitfalls. In short, we are preparing for a battle, and we will fight.” Fabrizio Guidi, Sport Director.

  • Bennett, Sean
  • Caicedo, Jonathan
  • Clarke, Simon
  • Craddock, Lawson
  • Guerreiro, Ruben
  • Kangert, Tanel
  • Morton, Lachlan
  • Whelan, Jimmy