2013 Giro preview: the contenders

When the Giro d’Italia rolls out in Naples tomorrow, there will be approximately 207 riders cinching up their shoes, but only a few have the talent to actually win the three-week, 3454-kilometre race. Last year, Ryder Hesjedal appeared to the Italian and world press to have come out of left field to take the pink jersey. In this version there are three strong contenders and a handful of others who can aspire to be on the final podium in Brescia.

Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain/Sky)
By this time last year Wiggo had won the Paris-Nice and Tour de Romandie and would go on to take the Critérium du Dauphiné, Britain’s first Tour de France and Olympic Games time trial gold. This season he’s placed fifth in two stage races, one in which a problem with his electronic shifting on a key climb bumped him off the podium.

Wiggins has the strongest team at the Giro, with two Colombian climbing aces in Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Uran Uran and another in Belorusian Kanstantsin Siutsou. The corsa rosa‘s team time trial on stage 2 and long individual time trial on stage 8 works in Wiggins’ favour and he is expected to be in pink by the first rest day.

After that Sky will have to play defensively, trying to soak up time bonuses at the finishes and keeping an eye on late attacks on some of the short steep ramps of week two. Week three will truly test Wiggins’ and his squad’s mettle as the climbs come thick and fast, prompting numerous attacks.

Vincenzo Nibali (Italy/Astana)
The Shark of Messina is the Great Italian Hope of 2013 and the media scrutiny will be intense. His spring has been successful, with victories in the Tirreno-Adriatico, a race he snagged from Chris Froome on the last stage, and the Giro del Trentino. The 2010 Vuelta a Espana winner has put everything into this race and will need all his time trialing and climbing prowess to defeat Wiggins.

Nibali came third in the 2010 Giro to Ivan Basso and David Arroyo and third again in 2011, though he was bumped up to second after Alberto Contador had his title stripped and given to Michele Scarponi. The Shark brings a trio of Italian climbers to the Giro, along with Swede Fredrik Kessiakoff, a strong time trialist who pulled on the mountains polka dot jersey a couple of times at last season’s Tour de France.

Ryder Hesjedal (Canada/Garmin-Sharp)

Last year’s Giro triumph was a surprise even to hopeful Canadians. Hesjedal was smart and strong and seemed unfazed by the media attention and pressure of wearing pink. Though some in the cycling press speculated that Ryder’s very late start to this season meant that he was targeting the Tour de France, Hesjedal has come to Italy entirely focused on defending his maglia rosa from Wiggins and Nibali.

Hesjedal has shown moments of tremendous strength this spring, most notably while helping Dan Martin (Ireland) win the Volta a Catalunya. Ryder also put in some good work and stiff attacks in the Ardennes Classics, coming eighth in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. But his form for a three week Grand Tour is still a mystery. Last year, Hesjedal took a similar route to the Giro: starting late, attacking in the Ardennes, and quitting the Tour de Romandie.

As ever, Hesjedal carries the Weight of a Nation and as the reigning champion, he is a marked man. Ryder’s fate may be as tied to how well his squad does in the team time trial as it is to how he stacks up against Nibali in the mountains and Wiggins in the chronos.

Others
Michele Scarponi (Italy/Lampre) has a lot to prove. His 2011 Giro was handed to him after Contador’s drug suspension. Last year he was shoved off the podium by an audacious Thomas De Gendt (Belgium/Vacansoleil). With a trio of strong climbers by his side, he has a chance to podium.

Robert Gesink (The Netherlands/Blanco) should also ride with a chip on his shoulder, as he’s considered to be a bit of a disappointment, even with last year’s Tour of California title. The Dutch climber crashes a lot and this may prove his undoing. This is his first Giro.

Sammy Sanchez (Spain/Euskatel-Euskadi) is a fine climber and good attacker, but he lacks time trialing strength. Euskatel is also a weak team time trial unit. At 35, he is approaching the end of his career. Nevertheless, ignore Samu at your own peril.

Carlos Betancour (Colombia/Ag2r): this year’s Giro is awash in Colombians, from the all-Colombian team Colombia, to Wiggins’ double-barreled mountain shotgun of Henao and Uran. Young Betancour is about to break out after a podium at Fleche Wallonne, a fourth at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and seventh at the Tour of the Basque Country.

Cadel Evans (Australia/BMC) joined the fray late; everyone thought he was saving his legs for another assault on the Tour de France after last year’s illness disappointment. However, Cuddles has thrown his casquette into the ring and hopes not to be eclipsed by his young teammate Taylor Phinney (USA) again.