The President of the International Riders Association (CPA), Gianni Bugno, won a Giro d’Italia title 25 years ago by leading the race from start to finish. Now he has given some commentary on the race to La Stampa, saying the early summit finishes could be more crucial than the passes that feature at the end of the race, such as the Colle delle Finestre and the Mortirolo.

“The leading light is [Alberto] Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) who has won more than the rest of them. [Fabio] Aru (Astana) and [Rigoberto] Urán (Etixx-Quick Step) should, with the rest of the rivals, try to wear him out together, because attacking him solo won’t get him dropped,” Bugno claimed.

“Aru did a great Giro in 2014 and if he has come on again he could cause problems for the Spaniard, but above all, we have to see if Contador is strongly focussed on the Tour. In that case, he may not be at the top of his form early on and he could be vulnerable in the first week,” Bugno said.

He says that it may be easier to shake the race up on the easier climbs,as everyone struggles on the hard passes where the grades are almost excessively steep.

“The riders make the race, not the climbs. Often on those toughest climbs not so much happens, each rider does his own thing and there aren’t necessarily big gaps. Then on the more ‘pedallable’ climbs, a lot more is at stake.”

This has prompted him to claim that stage five’s summit finish at the 17.4km, 5.4% average Abetone could prove decisive compared to the likes of the Mortirolo.

“It’s not a very hard climb, but it’s the first mountain top stage, which is always special, and it could still be cold there too. We’ll see who is able to fight for pink.”