Of the "fantastic four" there is only Alberto Contador. And he is the super favorite of the Giro d'Italia which starts today with a team time trial from San Lorenzo al Mare to Sanremo. Nibali, Froome and Quintana have chosen other paths in view of the Tour where that stellar challenge between the four big names in stage races will finally take place, which is already setting fire to the imagination of lovers of great cycling. But Contador, on the threshold of 33 years, is in a hurry and wants to recover what he has seen stolen for a retroactive disqualification for doping, a Tour and a Giro won on the road but lost at the table.
A dark period from which he managed to re-emerge by winning two Vueltas but for a great man like "El Pistolero" his name has been missing for too long among the winners of the two major stage races: for the Giro he is stopped at the only success of the 2008, for the Tour to the one won for the second time in 2009. And just last year, after the bitter withdrawal from the Grande Boucle due to a fall in the Vosges, Contador - won his third Vuelta in August - came the idea of a historic brace.
And here he is at the Giro, at the head of a squadron, the Tinkoff-Saxo, with luxury co-equipiers such as Kreuziger, Rogers and Ivan Basso, ready to carry out the first part of his ambitious project, which in the past was only successful for champions such as Coppi, Anquetil , Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and – last in 1998 – Pantani. Against him the predictions on the eve oppose a triad formed by Fabio Aru, Richie Porte and Rigoberto Uran. An interesting and respectable trio, but certainly less terrible than the one awaiting Contador at the Tour.
Of the three, Aru, the Italian standard-bearer for Astana, is the athlete who could worry more about the Spaniard's leadership than the other two. The only doubt about the Sardinian is his actual form after he has practically camouflaged himself at the start of the season. But everyone remembers what he did last year in the Giro, leaving his mark. With his explosive shots on the uphill finishes and the victory in Montecampione, Aru immediately established himself as the great promise of Italian cycling for stage races.
At 24 he has already become Nibali's assistant, so reliable that Astana renewed his contract until 2017 and provided him with a highly respected team including Kangert and Tiralongo. "People expect a lot, I can't fail", thus the Sardinian launched the challenge to Contador.
Unlike Aru who arrives at the Giro with just 15 days of racing and without a win, Richie Porte arrives at the start with 33 days in his legs and a good haul of successes, from Paris-Nice to the recent Giro del Trentino. But the thirty-year-old Tasmanian, leader of the Giro for Team Sky, has so far shown a fundamental fragility in the grand tours that keep the riders busy for three weeks.
In his only two Giros in which he participated, only in 2010, in the one won by Ivan Basso, Porte entered the top ten finishing seventh. The following year, in the edition won by Contador but then assigned to Michele Scarponi, he collapsed in 80th place. Also in the Tour four appearances, four flops, the last one last year despite having become captain of the Sky after the sudden withdrawal of Froome.
As for Uran, second in the last two Giros, in 2013 behind Nibali, last year behind Nairo Quintana, the Colombian tries again. But in recent times the improvement in pace and time trials, the Etixx-Quick Step captain has paid for by losing effectiveness in his primary quality, that of grimpeur.
Last year Uran disappointed in the mountain stages after dominating the Barolo time trial. We'll see this year when the Giro tackles the great asperities, from Mortirolo to Colle delle Finestre just to mention the two most terrible mountains of a race that features seven uphill finishes with an overall difference in altitude of about 40 metres.
From San Lorenzo al Mare to Milan, 21 stages for a total of 3.486 kilometres, this year the Giro presents a maxi time trial of almost 60 km which could be as decisive as the four high mountain stages. Seven completely flat or almost flat stages are ready for the sprinters: the main candidate to fill up is the big German from Lotto, André Greipel, known as the Gorilla.
There are no other great sprinters on the world stage. Kittel disappeared from circulation this year; Degenkolb rests after dominating Sanremo and Roubaix; Kristoff, Cavendish and Bouhanni await the Tour. Greipel will have to contend with the Italians Viviani, Modolo and, why not, Petacchi who at 41 is still in the fray. For the stages, keep an eye on Diego Ulissi who wants to get back on top after his recent misadventures and on two true Belgians: Philippe Gilbert and above all Tom Boonen who is tackling the Giro for the first time with the desire to enrich his already prestigious palmarès.
