Giro d'Italia: Giro d'Italia 2019: All Teams, Riders & Goals (3/3)

Cycling: In the last part of our big preview we report on the Giro d'Italia teams, which have an eye on the overall standings. The top class drivers fight for the coveted places on the podium. Here it goes to ersten Teil and for second part the big team preview.

Movistar: The second guard has to deliver now

The Movistar team has been one of the top teams at almost every tour for many years. Especially when it comes to the overall classification, the Spanish team usually cuts a fine figure. At the Giro d'Italia 2019 However, Movistar will be without Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana. Instead should Mikel Landa and Richard Carapaz ensure a good overall result. Both of these can be trusted. After all, Mikel Landa finished third in Italy in 2015 and fourth and seventh in the Tour de France in the past two years. Richard Carapaz can also look back on good placements at the age of 25. His breakthrough came at the Giro d'Italia 2018 with fourth place overall and a stage win. So although the younger of the two also has the quality to finish on the podium, Movistar will probably bet on Mikel Landa. Many experts have believed that the now 29-year-old could win a Grand Tour for years.

The two classification riders are supported by a surprisingly less strong group of climbers. As Mr. Reliable, we sure can Andrew Amador describe. The 32-year-old is tackling his 14th Grand Tour and will be a key helper in the mountains. Although have Lluís Mas, Héctor Carretero and Antonio Pedrero placeholder image their strengths also uphill, but on particularly selective mountain stages it is unlikely that this trio will still be able to support their captains. The same applies to the much better known ones Jose Joaquin Rojas and Jasha Sutterlin. They will certainly be harnessed first on slightly hilly terrain, since they are likely to be distanced first on hard mountains. The German Jasha Sütterlin will also be able to drive to a good result himself in the three time trials.

Astana: The success story should be continued

In the 2019 season, Team Astana has undoubtedly been one of the most successful teams in cycling so far. Their expectations for the Giro d'Italia are correspondingly high - and they can be. With Miguel Angel Lopez drives one of the top favorites in their own ranks. It is important for him to get through the first half of the tour unscathed, as he will probably be one of the strongest professionals at the end of the three weeks. It is therefore somewhat surprising that one can see him in the person of Manuel Boaro has only provided a real pacemaker. The Italian is considered a strong time trialist and a reliable helper on the flat. The rest of the Astana squad will not come into their own until the roads lead up.

Local hero should be designated at least as co-captain Ion Izagirre. He has already proven several times that he can place at the top of the overall rankings in tours. On a Grand Tour, however, he has had little luck so far. He was only able to place in the top ten at last year's Vuelta a Espana. Therefore, despite his good results, he will probably only act as a noble helper. There are several of them in the Astana team. With Dario Cataldo, Jan Hirt and Andrey Zeits there are three climbers in the team, who might even have the role of captain in some other teams. At Astana they are responsible for their captains and can occasionally be used as a realais station on mountain stages. For stage wins come with their punch too bilbao hair and Davide Villela in question. You can even win a moderately difficult stage from a smaller group by sprinting uphill.

Bahrain – Merida: A strict hierarchy and a lot of experience

In no other team is the hierarchy at the Giro d'Italia 2019 as clearly visible as in Bahrain - Merida. In the person of Vincenzo Nibali there is only one captain. All other seven nominated drivers only serve the support of the great master. No wonder, because the "Shark of Messina" has already won the Giro d'Italia twice. He also triumphed in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana. This makes him one of only seven drivers who have won every major national tour at least once. If the captain delivers as desired, focusing so heavily on one driver can almost only have advantages. But if the leader is disappointed, a team will very quickly face major problems. This could now also apply to Bahrain - Merida, because Vincenzo Nibali is already 34 years old and many experts fear that he will not be able to build on old successes.

However, the course of the tour speaks for the Italian. Experience has shown that Vincenzo Nibali usually only gets in top form in the last week. In order to survive the first eleven rather easy stages, you have him with you Grega Bole and Kristian Koren two experts from Slovenia who are predestined for this. They can keep up the pace and protect their captain as long as the course is topographically undemanding. When the Giro d'Italia reaches the high mountains, the more experienced become Valerio Agnoli and Domenico Pozzovivo and Damian Caruso prove that they are true noble helpers. Vincenzo's brother Antonio Nibali and the still very unknown Andrea Garosioo can also be described as climbers, but will only be able to help to a limited extent. All in all, Bahrain - Merida puts everything on one card with this strict hierarchy. If the plan with Vincenzo Nibali doesn't work as desired, the rest have to hope for a stage win somehow. We attribute the best chances to Domenico Pozzovivo and Damiano Caruso in the high mountains. The great advantage of Bahrain - Merida is undoubtedly the experience. With the exception of Antonio Nibali and Andrea Garosioo, all the nominees are over 30 years old.

Mitchelton – Scott: Simon Yates wants to finish it

Simon yates still has a score to settle with the Giro d'Italia. Last season, the Brit looked like the sure winner for a long time. The strong climber dominated every mountain stage and was unstoppable - until he collapsed three days before the end. With his later overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana, he was able to quickly forget the defeat. But now he's returning to the Tour of Italy to settle the score. In return, he has made a firm commitment to act less aggressively and save energy for the second half. If he succeeds, he must be called one of the top favourites. In addition to his personal strength, he can also build on a strong team. Thanks to Stephen Chaves and Mikel Nieve Simon Yates will be difficult to isolate. Both should not leave his side in the mountains until shortly before the end. If they are given liberties, they are also a good tip for stage wins.

As another strong climber will Lucas Hamilton put his skills to the test on a Grand Tour for the first time. The only 23-year-old Australian is considered a great talent and should be the third helper alongside Simon Yates in the mountains. The line-up is rounded off by four professionals who exercise their strengths on the flat. Jack Bauer and Christopher Juul-Jensen can chase a breakaway and form wind relays, as can the strong time trialists Brent Bookwalter and Luke Durbridge. If the strong Mitchelton-Scott climbers are at their peak form in the second half, it will be difficult to beat them. However, should this not be the case, the Giro d'Italia will be a fiasco for the team. The climbers would then not be competitive - and the flat stages would then be over.

Jumbo - Visma: Green behind the ears, but swap yellow for pink

The yellow-colored Equipe Jumbo - Visma has with Primois Roglic for many experts the absolute one Top favorites in their own ranks. Only the fact that the Slovenian ex-ski jumper has already won three one-week tours this season makes us skeptical. This shows that he has been in good form for weeks. Therefore, there is a fear that he could run out of air at the end of the Giro d'Italia. In order to avoid a fiasco similar to what happened to Simon Yates last year, Primoz Roglic is given a powerful team. Laurens De Plus, Koen Bouwman, Sepp Kuss and Antwan Tolhoek are all strong climbers. In good shape they can break up a peloton in the high mountains. The problem: Between the ages of 23 and 25, they are all very young and inexperienced. Together they only come on eight major country tours.

The more important is the experience of Paul Martens. The German all-rounder is contesting his tenth Grand Tour. Together with Jos van Emden and Tom Leezer he will set the pace as an "over 33 trio" especially on flat stages and on slightly hilly terrain. Nevertheless, success with Primoz Roglic stands and falls in the Jumbo - Visma team. If he can't live up to expectations in the second half of the Giro, the rest of the squad will have to pull a stage win out of the hat somehow. However, this will probably not succeed due to the lack of experience of the climbers and the flat stages that will then no longer be available. The pressure on Primoz Roglic is therefore enormous - also within the team.

Ineos: The future is warming up

Anyone who has slept through the past few weeks might think that a junior team was sent to the Giro d'Italia in red and black. The mistake only becomes apparent when the cycling fan Christian knees discovered. It is actually the former Team Sky. The 20-year-old German will take on a mentoring role on his 38th Grand Tour. Until Salvatore Puccio the drivers in the squad are only between 21 and 25 years old. For a team as ambitious as Ineos, this fact is surprising. This should make it difficult to defend the title won by Chris Froome last year. What is certain is that we will not see the typical Sky train from Ineos. Without a dominant classification driver, this type of tactic makes no sense. However, you don't want to completely ignore the overall rating. After all, there is an enormous amount of talent in the Ineos squad.

Particularly noteworthy in this regard Tao Geoghegan Hart and Pavel Sivakov and Ivan Sosa. The first two mentioned have already shown at the Tour of the Alps that they can keep up with the strongest professionals in the high mountains. The overall victory proved that the form is already right. There are some question marks with Ivan Sosa in this regard. Especially since the young Colombian still has major weaknesses in the time trial. All three are said to have a lot of talent and excellent climbing skills. If you don't drive for the overall ranking, you can definitely tackle a stage win. The same applies to Sebastian Henao, who is far too inconsistent for a classification driver, but could appear as a stage hunter in the high mountains thanks to a considerable time deficit in the second half of the tour. Team Ineos could also consider trying to win the mountain jersey. Are more at home on hilly terrain Eddie Dunbar and Jhonatan Narvaez. Given the appropriate freedom, we could also see them from time to time in escape groups.

Katusha – Alpecin: You have to get results somehow

A team in crisis: Katusha – Alpecin has been pursuing its own ambitions for almost a year and a half now. Only Nils Politt lives up to expectations. However, the German will not be at the start of the Giro d'Italia. Nevertheless, Katusha - Alpecin relies on a kind of dual leadership. However, this could be relatively blunt. Because class driver Ilnur Zakarin won his last race - apart from the Russian Championships - in July 2016. Enrico Battaglin – a mix of puncher and sprinter – has only won once since mid-2014. After all, this was last year at the Giro d'Italia. But that was it with the positive signs. Because these two captains have to compete with absolute top drivers on the Tour of Italy. Given their popularity, they're unlikely to fly under the radar.

The remaining nominees do not arouse optimism either. Solid riders, but under normal circumstances they are not eligible for a stage win or a classification jersey. Mostly climbers Daniel Navarro. But the Spaniard is also 35 years old and last won a race in 2014. Jenthe Biermans is considered a fast man, but has against the top sprinter not standing a chance in mass sprints. He would have to venture into escape groups on flat stages, just like the Austrian Mark Haller and the Swiss Reto Hollenstein. If it gets a bit hilly, we recommend the two Russians Viacheslav Kuznetsov and Dmitry Strakhov send to the breakaway group. Either way, a successful Giro d'Italia for Katusha - Alpecin would be more of a surprise.

Sunweb: Tom Dumoulin is one of the top favorites again

This year, too, the Sunweb team is setting up Tom Dumoulin. The Dutchman is set to win the Giro d'Italia for the second time after 2017. Last year he narrowly missed out on Chris Froome in Italy and Geraint Thomas in France. In 2019, Sky and Ineos are not expected to win the Tour of Italy overall. But that's not the only reason why Tom Dumoulin is one of the top favourites. Three time trials suit the former world champion. The fact that things only really get down to business in the second half of the Giro should also play into his hands. He himself announced that he was in much weaker form than in the past two years. Should this actually be the case, Team Sunweb faces a tough three weeks.

The team is again not one of the strongest. Until Jan Bakelants none of them have won a stage in a Grand Tour. Even outside of the big national tours, they have not appeared as winners so far. It is striking that they all correspond to a similar type of driver. In addition to Jan Bakelants, they also feel Chad Haga, Chris Hamilton, Jai Hindley, Robert Power and Louis Vervaeke most comfortable on slightly hilly terrain. On a good day they can keep up in the high mountains, but all of them will probably not be able to support their captain Tom Dumoulin until the end. Only Sam Oomen is this to be trusted. The 23-year-old is considered a strong climber and upcoming Grand Tour winner. Last year he finished ninth overall as a helper to Tom Dumoulin.

Trek – Segafredo: A little bit of everything

The Trek – Segafredo team sends a good mixture to the Giro d'Italia. With the eight nominated drivers, the team can influence almost every stage. With the 201 as captain at the start Build Mollema. The Dutchman finally doesn't want to end a Grand Tour unlucky again. Most recently, he was seventh in Italy in 2017 and from 2013 to 2015 he finished in the top ten at the Tour de France. Weak in flat time trials, Bauke Mollema benefits from the very hilly terrain. To get into the top ten, however, he has to make the difference in the high mountains. There he is mainly due to the support of Gianluca Brambilla can build. The Italian would also have the potential to go for a good result in the general classification. However, he often has at least one bad day. Therefore, he is planned as a noble helper and can go on stage hunts.

Even more likely to be co-captain in terms of overall standings Giulio Ciccone. The Italian is only 24 years old but is already riding his fourth Giro d'Italia. He is considered to be the tour driver of the future, but has not yet been able to prove this consistently. We will probably have to wait for confirmation again this year. The same applies to Nicola Conci. The only 22-year-old is also considered a great talent for stage races. Absolutely no longer can be called talent Markel Irizar. The 39-year-old Spaniard will be tackling his 21st Grand Tour and will primarily use his experience to guide the young professionals in the team. This also counts Matteo Moschetti. The sprinter will benefit from that same Markel Irizar on the flat when it comes to maintaining a good position before the mass sprint. The Australian too Will Clarke and the Austrian Michael Gogl can fill this role. With a bit of luck, Michael Gogl may even belong to a breakaway group on the few hilly stages within the first half of the Giro.