The Giro d'Italia was once known as a predominantly affair but a clear strategy to internationalize the race has paid off and this year a host of established, foreign grand tour stars will head to Belfast for the start of the Italian race. Nairo Quintana and Joaquim Rodriguez headline a very strong list of contenders that includes four past grand tour winners and even though the sad absence of Richie Porte will be felt, the organizers could hardly have wished a stronger line-up for the three-week race. CyclingQuotes.com takes a thorough look at this year's favourites and outsiders and finds out all about their strengths and weaknesses.

 

When Michele Acquarone took over the reins from Angelo Zomegnan as race director of the Giro d'Italia, he had a firm objective. He wanted to internationalize what was by many seen as a mostly Italian race in an attempt to challenge the position of the Tour de France as the world's leading bike race and the first premise for success in that regard was the attraction of more international stars to the race's line-up.

 

The effort has clearly paid off as a more balanced route design with shorter transfers, no excessive climbing and more time trialing has convinced several international stars to make the Giro their main target of the season. Already last year the reigning Tour de France champion took to the start and even though Chris Froome won't be at the start in Belfast on Friday, this year's line-up is spearheaded by the other two podium finishers from the 2013 edition of La Grande Boucle.

 

With defending champion Vincenzo Nibali focusing on the Tour de France, it may in fact be difficult for the home nation to even put a rider on the podium. Home riders like Michele Scarponi, Domenico Pozzovivo and Ivan Basso will have to beat the likes of Nairo Quintana, Joaquim Rodriguez, Cadel Evans, Daniel Martin, Rigoberto Uran and Rafal Majka to make it two Italian wins in  a row.

 

CyclingQuotes.com has taken an in-depth look at the race's favourites, assigning 5 stars to the race's biggest favourite, 4 to his two biggest rivals, 3 to three other potential winners, 2 to four of the podium contenders and 1 to 5 of the race's minor outsiders. In this article, we take a look at the  1-star riders that may finish on the podium if everything goes their way.

 

Przemyslaw Niemiec (*)

For several years, Przemyslaw Niemiec didn't get the chances that his undisputed talent made him deserve. Riding for smaller continental teams, he was a perennial contender in the hardest Italian races but for some reason, he was never given the chance at the highest level. Not even an overall victory and three stage wins in the Route du Sud and a podium spot and two stage victories in the Giro del Trentino were enough to convince one of cycling's major teams that he deserved a spot on their roster.

 

His fortunes finally changed when Lampre-Merida signed him for the 2011 season but he had a hard time adjusting to consistently riding at the highest level. Furthermore, he mostly rode as a domestique and got very few personal opportunities.

 

He finally showed glimpses of his potential when he finished 15th in the 2012 Vuelta and it seems that the experience of riding a grand tour for the GC made him improve a lot. Last year he was riding better than ever and he capped an excellent spring season that included top 10 results in Tirreno, Catalunya and Trentino with a 6th place in the Giro despite riding in support of Michele Scarponi.

 

With Scarponi now riding for Astana and new signing Chris Horner out with injury, Niemiec will get his first ever chance to be the undisputed leader in a grand tour. He has been allowed to specifically prepare the challenge and after a slow start to the season, he seems to be finding his form just in time for his big objective. Having shown signs of form before falling ill in Catalunya, he finished 3rd overall in Trentino.

 

His performance in Trentino also underlined which type of rider he is. Niemiec struggled in the short, explosive uphill finish in stage 3 and was constantly in difficulties when the attacks were launched on the two big mountains that ended stages 2 and 4. However, he always clawed his way back to the best riders and ended both stage as the best of the favourites by winning the sprint.

 

Niemiec is not very explosive but knows himself extremely well and knows how to pace himself on a climb. This year's course don't have many finishes on short climbs but is littered with long, regular ascents that suit him down to the ground. His no great time trialist and will clearly lose some time in Barolo but with his great consistency he should excel in the hard third week of the race.  A win is certainly beyond his reach and the podium will also be a tough ask but don't be surprised to see Niemiec crown his long, consistent career with a top 5 finish.

 

Robert Kiserlovski (*)

When he won last year's Vuelta, Chris Horner relied heavily on the services of Robert Kiserlovski. In the tough penultimate weekend in the Pyrenees, the Croatian was evidently one of the very strongest riders in the race and spent endless of hours on the front of the group of the favourites, ramping up the speed for his American captain. At that point of the race, Kiserlovski almost seemed to have been capable of a podium spot himself.

 

As it was the case 12 months ago, Kiserlovski gets his chance to ride a grand tour in a captaincy role at the Giro where he leads a strong Trek team that also includes talented neo-pros Riccardo Zoidl and Julian Arredondo. Last year's excellent Vuelta performance proves that the American team has a very good reason to believe in their Croatian captain.

 

His strong ride in Spain shows that Kiserlovski is one of the very best when he reaches his top level and this makes him a very exciting dark horse for the Giro. On the other hand, history also indicates that he has a hard time keeping up that excellent level throughout three weeks of racing.

 

Last year he entered the race in splendid condition but faded in the third week and dropped down to 15th. In the Vuelta, he started the race rather poorly and after his excellent showing in the second week, he again faded towards the end of the race.

 

It's a big shame that Kiserlovski has those evident limitations when it comes to recovery. This year's mountainous course suits him perfectly and the long, regular climbs in the final week are tailor-made for his steady riding style. If he is at his best in the final week, he will be a real podium threat but nothing suggests that it will be the case. Furthermore, he is a rather poor time trialist and even though a dedicated effort to improve has paid off, he can expected to lose a lot of time in Barolo.

 

This year Kiserlovski has raced much more than usual in the early part of the season and he has done really well by taking a pair of top 10 spots in Tirreno and Catalunya. He seemed to have a slight dip of form in Pais Vasco and hasn't raced since. Hopefully, his heavy racing burden won't impact his recovery too much and it was a wise decision for him to limit his racing in the final period leading up to the Giro. If he can finally perform consistently over three weeks, Kiserlovski has the potential to be a dark horse in this year's Giro.

 

Wilco Kelderman (*)

For some reason, the Netherlands has a fabulous ability to form exciting young stage racing talents and the next in line after the likes of Robert Gesink, Bauke Mollema and Steven Kruijswijk is Wilco Kelderman. After making his grand tour debut in last year's Giro, he will get his first chance to ride for GC when he joins forces with Kruijswijk to lead Belkin in Italy.

 

While Gesink, Mollema and Kruijswijk are mainly known for their climbing skills, Kelderman is a much more versatile rider. In fact, his main assets are his time trialing skills and he took his first major professional result when he finished a surprising 4th in the long, flat time trial at the 2012 Dauphiné. He ended the race by climbing solidly enough to secure a win in the youth classification and finish in the top 10 overall.

 

While he excelled in the time trials, however, his climbing seemed to be too limited in the first part of his professional career but like so many other talents, he has benefited immensely from completing his first grand tour. After his post-Giro break, he was flying in the second part of the season and kicked it all off by winning the overall and the time trial at the Tour of Denmark before taking a very solid 7th in the Eneco Tour.

 

This year he has clearly stepped up his climbing quite a bit. In both Paris-Nice and Catalunya, he climbed with the very best but bad luck saw him miss out on top 10 results. He blew the race to pieces in the Volta Limburg Classic and then headed to a training camp with fellow GC captain Kruiswijk.

 

Since then he has only done one race when he made a very impressive showing in the Rund um den Finanzplatz where he initiated the early breakaway and rode strongly in the front most of the day. He is now ready to put his improved climbing on show on an even bigger scene.

 

What makes Kelderman especially exciting is his versatility. He can both climb and time trial and he seems to be able to handle the strains of three weeks of racing. In last year's Giro he rode in support of Robert Gesink but still managed to end the race in 17th overall without showing much sign of fatigue towards the end of the race.

 

As one of the strongest time trialists among the GC contenders, he would obviously have preferred the TTs to play a bigger role and the extremely hard third week may prove to be a bit too much for the young Dutchman. If he continues his current progression though, he has the potential to become a future grand tour star and he could very well kick it all off with a great ride in Italy this month.

 

Ryder Hesjedal (*)

It's rare for a rider to enter a grand tour just two years after an overall victory without barely being mentioned in the list of favourites. However, Ryder Hesjedal has had a very hard time since he became a very surprising winner of the 2012 edition of the Giro d'Italia.

 

Last year all seemed to be going according to plan when he lined up for his title defence. Having been one of the strongest riders in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, he was riding very well in the first week of the race, seemingly at ease on the climbs and constantly on the attack. However, things started to unravel in the long time trial and just a few days later he abandoned the race due to illness.

 

He seemed to be bouncing back when he produced a fantastic ride in the first mountain stage of the Tour de Suisse but crashed out of the race one day later. To make things even worse, he fractured a rib in the first week of the Tour de France but still managed to ride a visible and aggressive race in the mountains despite suffering from his injury. He proved that he is still a capable bike rider though when he ended his season by taking third in the GP Montreal.

 

This year the Giro is again his big target but so far he has shown nothing in 2013. He usually has a slow start to his season and starts to get into form for the Ardennes classics but this year he was also far behind the best in the hilly one-day races. He skipped his usual final preparation race in Romandie and arrives in Belfast as one of the very big question marks for the race.

 

Despite his lack of results, Hesjedal is still joint Garmin leader with Daniel Martin and it may be a deliberate choice for him to start his season off at a slower pace as the Giro is set to be decided in the final week. On the other hand, it would be an unusual strategy for a rider who has always been known for his consistency.

 

At the same time this year's course doesn't suit him too well. When he won the race in 2012, the route was not as hard as it is this year and the massive amount of climbing in the final week could be too much for the Canadian. At the same time, the very steep slopes of the Monte Zoncolan won't be an advantage for a big guy like Hesjedal who mostly excels on regular, more moderate climbs. Despite being a solid time trialist, he is no great specialist and there is no guarantee that he will take a lot of time in Barolo.

 

Hesjedal hasn't consistently performed at the highest level for two years and as he hasn't shown any kind of form this year, it is hard to honestly believe in a strong ride from the Canadian. On the other hand, he showed glimpses of his highest level in 2013 and there is no doubt that he is still an excellent bike rider. After all, he is one of only three riders in this race that has proved that he can win the Giro and so he obviously deserves a mention as a dark horse.

 

Fabio Duarte (*)

When he won the 2008 U23 World Championships, Fabio Duarte was marked out as a great talent but the Colombian has had a hard time living up to expectations. He got his chance at the highest level with the Geox team in 2011 and immediately proved his worth when he finished 2nd in a stage of the Giro and won a big mountain stage in the Giro del Trentino. He was hampered a lot by injury that year but still managed to show signs of his great potential.

 

When Geox folded, he joined the Colombia team but unfortunately his progress stalled while riding for his home team. He never reached his best form in 2012 and last year he again struggled throughout most of the season. However, he started to find his best legs towards the end of the Giro and showed just how strong he can be when he finished 5th on the Galibier and 2nd in the queen stage to Tre Cime Di Lavaredo.

 

After struggling in the second half of 2013 and the first half of 2014, he seemed to be back to his disappointing normal but he suddenly showed signs of life in the Giro del Trentino. He struggled a bit in the short, steep climb on stage 3 but he was one of only two riders to keep up with Cadel Evans in both major mountain stages.

 

That history proves that Duarte is a very inconsistent rider but when he reaches his peak condition, he is one of the very best climbers. Luckily it seems that he won't start this year's Giro on the back foot but seems to be on fire right from the beginning.

 

Duarte is not only a great climber but also a rather fast finisher that may find some of the easy uphill finishes in the first week to his liking. However, his real time to shine will come in the final week where the high-altitude climbing and many long ascents should suit him perfectly. Like most other Colombians, he is a pretty poor time trialist and the GC won't be his main objective. He enters the race with his eyes set on a stage win but his team doesn't rule out that he will also target the GC later in the race. The main question is whether the usually inconsistent Duarte can keep his great shape all the way to the finish in Trieste. If he manages to do so, he can be the great surprise of the race.