Fabio Aru will go into the Giro d'Italia with the goal of finishing on the podium for the second time in a row and he can count on the support from a fantastic group of climbers that makes the Astana team one of the strongest in the race.

In addition to the team captain, the Kazakh team will have the in-form Mikel Landa at their disposal. The Basque recently won a stage and finished second behind Richie Porte in the Giro del Trentino.

Tanel Kangert will return to the Giro after he finished in the top 15 two years ago while riding in support of Vincenzo Nibali while Dario Cataldo and Luis Leon Sanchez will join the Estonian to deliver firepower in both the mountains and the team time trial.

Paolo Tiralongo will again use his experience to be Aru's bodyguard while new signing Diego Rosa is expected to shine in the mountains after a fantastic start to the season. Davide Malacarne and the always reliable Andrey Zeits will provide support in the medium mountains.

Astana for the Giro d'Italia

Fabio Aru, Dario Cataldo, Tanel Kangert, Mikel Landa, Davide Malacarne, Diego Rosa, Luis Leon Sanchez, Paolo Tiralongo, and Andrey Zeits