Tom Dumoulin will defend pink jersey at 2018 Giro d’Italia

Last month, the Giro d’Italia organizers unveiled the full route, or corsa rosa, of the 2018 edition, with Chris Froome announcing that he would race the Giro in an attempt to win three consecutive Grand Tours. Since then Froome’s participation has come into doubt, but on Tuesday a report on the Dutch website De Telegraaf indicated that the reigning champion Tom Dumoulin, after some humming and hawing, will defend his pink jersey.

Fans and pundits believed that Dumoulin would target the 2018 Tour de France after his first Grand Tour triumph. Known by some as The Butterfly of Maastrict, Dumoulin battled Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali for the title after seven other Grand Tours, four of which he did not finish. The 2018 Giro’s 44.2-km of time trials is right up the world chrono champion‘s alley.

So the Giro’s field is beginning to take shape. Other riders slated to line up in Jerusalem in May are UAE-Emirates’ new ace Fabio Aru, one of the revelations of the 2017 Vuelta Angel Lopez (Astana), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Rohan Dennis (BMC), Louis Meintjes (Dimension Data) and Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde.

Mitchelton-Scott is sending a strong duo: 2016’s runner up Estaban Chaves and Simon Yates, winner of the young rider competition in the 2017 Tour.

FEATURE: “I love to race in Italy so I am happy to go back to the Giro d’Italia.” – @estecharu on #2018 https://t.co/gxVNxpSIWI

— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) December 15, 2017

Although we know that 2017 Tour de France runner-up Rigoberto Uran is heading back to France in July, EF-Drapac and Michael Woods haven’t announced which Grand Tours the Canadian, who posted the best ever GC showing for a Canuck in the Vuelta, will race.