So this year with Stages 1 and 9 totalling 49km he’s got terrain to suit, even if Roglič was on the back foot back then. When he won the Vuelta last year, he put 48 seconds into Roglič in the 30km time trial and 1-2 minutes into the other GC rivals. He’s the form pick, having won again in Liège by riding the entire field off his wheel. Despite this prodigious challenge, he’s ticking off the bucket list with ease. It’s victory in all three grand tours, the world championship title and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Never say Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) doesn’t know what he wants. There are time bonuses of 10-6-4 seconds for the road stages. You’ll find more detail on all the stages at /giro.

As ever the mountains build in intensity, there are summit finishes in the first week but it’s the third week that should prove decisive with the gigantic Alpine stages, weather permitting.

Three time trial stages totalling over 70km, the first two are flat and the last has a savage climb (pending news on any revision), it’s the most kilometres solo against the clock since 2013 although let’s not exaggerate as recent years have come close, this defining feature of the first two time trials is how they’re almost dragster courses to reward people who can turn a 58T chainring, local riders whose name rhymes with panna even. We’ll revisit and revise the contenders and their outlook on each of the rest days.Ī reminder of the route. This the picture today and so often the Giro is an optical illusion that reveals a different form later. Who will finish first between Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, and who will finish third? This year’s edition seems to open with two questions. A look at the contenders and pretenders for the 2023 Giro d’Italia.

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