VINCENZO NIBALI
Giro participations: Eight
Best GC result: 1st (2013, 2016) Best stage result: Seven stage wins (2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017)
The Shark rode Volta ao Algarve and then Paris-nice back in March (he was a promising fourth on GC in the latter). But his post-lockdown campaign has so far consisted mainly of one-day races, with sixth in Il Lombardia the standout result that shows he is at least still on the right track. He then churned out a rather pedestrian showing at Tirreno-adriatico, where he finished 19th on GC. But the 35-year-old knows how to win a Grand Tour – he already has four of them in his palmarès, including two Giros. Earlier in the season, he cited Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz as two of his chief rivals for the race – two riders he may be relieved not to have to grapple with (though no doubt he wouldn’t have wished Evenepoel’s crash on him).
This season has proved so unpredictable so far that calling a Grand Tour favourite has never been harder. But this is Nibali’s national tour, he’s done it before, and, at 35, he won’t have many more good chances. What’s more, it starts in Sicily, where he was born. He will be giving it his all.
If Sam Oomen is on his way up, Aleksandr Vlasov is more or less there already, despite his tender 24 years. He’s had an excellent post-lockdown season so far, winning the Giro dell’emilia, coming third at Il Lombardia and fifth on GC at the Tirreno. If his team leader Jakob Fuglsang falters, then Yates, Thomas et al will be expecting the young Russian to give them a run for their money.
You could only feel sorry for the Cumbrian rider last year when, in his first ever Grand Tour, he was forced to abandon the Giro due to early crashes. The 24-year-old went on to make amends at the Vuelta a España, finishing 11th, and more recently, he was seventh on GC in the postlockdown Tirreno-adriatico. Assuming he has better luck at the Giro this year, he could be a force to be reckoned with.