Giro d’Italia contenders’ list emerging

On Sunday Tom Dumoulin, the Butterfly of Maastricht, threw his casquette in the ring of the Giro d’Italia, announcing that he would target the first 2019 Grand Tour instead of the Tour de France. Dumoulin was second in both races last year and was the 2017 Giro champion. On Monday, Simon Yates confirmed what he had hinted at back in September, that he would race the Giro to take of unfinished business.

In May Yates was leading the Giro through a series of strong performances, but he imploded on Stage 19, dropping to 18th after 13 days in pink and eventually finishing the race in 22nd. Yates went on to win the Vuelta a España.

Yates and Dumoulin will face two-time winner Vincenzo Nibali, who will have Domenico Pozzovivo for support. Movistar will send in two prongs of the trident, Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde, along with 2018’s fourth place Richard Carapaz.

The rider who edged out Carapaz for the best young rider and the last podium place in May was Angel “Superman” Lopez of Astana. The Colombian will be back for 2019.

Other GC riders who will take on the Giro are Ilnur Zakarin (Russia/Katusha), who was third in the 2017 Vuelta a España and Bora-Hansgrohe’s Rafal Majka. There’s speculation that Egan Bernal will be Sky’s protected rider at the Giro, as Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome will concentrate on the Tour de France.

The 102nd Giro d’Italia begins on May 11 in Bologna for the first of three individual time trials.