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 2-star riders that should all be solid podium candidates.

 

Rigoberto Uran (**)

When illness forced Bradley Wiggins to leave last year's Giro d'Italia, Sky captaincy duties fell onto the shoulders of Rigoberto Uran. The Colombian was up to the challenge and delivered a consistent, albeit unspectacular performance, to finish 2nd. Being part of Sky tactics, he was allowed to slip up the road and gain time on the stage to Altopiano del Montasio when Wiggins was still the focal point, and that put him into the GC mix.

 

That performance earned him a contract with Omega Pharma-Quick Step that was desperately looking for a GC contender and this year he will get his first ever chance to line up in a three-week race as the undisputed leader with an entire team at his disposal. For once, the Belgian team will leave their aggressive attitude behind them and fully support a rider that is gunning for the overall podium.

 

Despite being just 27 years of age, Uran is already a grand tour veteran with 8 three-week races under his belt. He arrived in Europe at a very young age and first made the world aware of his talents when he won a stage of the Tour de Suisse at just 20 years of age and those many years at the WorldTour level has allowed him to already accumulate lot of experience in the three-week races.

 

Nonetheless, his stellar performance in last year's Giro was more of an exception than a culmination of a long list of strong results in the grand tours. In fact, Uran failed to produce the needed consistency over three weeks despite often getting the chance to go for the GC while riding for Movistar. His role obviously changed when he joined Sky but it was actually in the colours of the British team that he first showed signs on life in the grand tours. In the 2011 Tour de France, he took over captaincy duties when Bradley Wiggins crashed out of the race and definitely had a chance to finish in the top 10 until stomach issues saw him drop out of GC contention in the final week.

 

In 2012 he got his first chance to line up in a grand tour as the designated leader and for the first time he performed consistently over three weeks to finish 7th. That performance laid the foundations for his breakthrough ride one year later when he proved to be ready when circumstances suddenly gave him a chance.

 

At his best, Rigoberto Uran is a very capable climber that should shine on this year's mountainous course. This makes him an obvious podium candidate in this year's Giro but history indicates that he lacks the  consistency needed to perform well in a three-week race. It was last evidenced in the Vuelta when Sergio Henao's failure gave him the chance to lead the team but he performed very irregularly. One day he was up there with the best but the next he found himself minutes behind the leading riders.

 

To love up to Omega Pharma-Quick Step's confidence, he needs to once and for all put those doubts over his consistency to rest. At the same time, he still hasn't shown that he can match the very best climbers in the peloton and last year's second place was taken in a field that seemed to lack the depth of this year's Giro line-up. To again contend for the podium, he needs to step up his level significantly.

 

Uran has not had the perfect build-up to the Giro as he has been set back by illness. He seemed to have taken that important step up when he came out with all guns blazing in the Tour of Oman but after riding for Michal Kwiatkowski in Tirreno-Adriatico, he performed very poorly in Catalunya. His health issues forced him out of the Ardennes classics and he made another below-par performance on the Romandie climbs.

 

Surprisingly, he shone in the two Romandie time trials and especially his performance in the final stage of the Swiss race was very encouraging for his future prospects in stage races. Having always struggled in the individual discipline, he suddenly beat much stronger time trialists to take fourth and was even faster than Tony Martin (who had a small incident that cost him some time) in the second half that was all downhill and flat. In a funny turnaround of things, he could now be the one to benefit from the Barolo time trial if he can keep going like he did that day.

 

That performance, however, cannot erase the impression of a spring season that hasn't gone according to plan for Uran and he may still be catching up from his illness. At the same time he still needs to prove the consistency to be a regular grand tour contender and he finds himself up against a deeper field in this year's race. Nonetheless, he is one of the select few who has finished on a grand tour podium in the past and with the climbing mostly loaded in the third week of the race, he may still have time to reach a level that will allow him to finish on the podium for the third year in a row.

 

Rafal Majka (**)

Rafal Majka didn't have an awful lot of results from his youth career and so it didn't attract an awful lot of attention when he was a late addition to the Saxo Bank roster in February 2011 but the young Pole gradually proved that the Danish team had made a real coup. He didn't have a great first season but gave indications of his talents during the Vuelta and those performances earned him the chance to lead the team in the Giro.

 

He missed that race due to injury. Instead, he lined up as a domestique for Alberto Contador in the Vuelta and that was when the world finally got to see what this strong Pole is capable of. Taking some immense turns on the front at the end of the mountain stages, he was one of the riders that made the peloton explode and set up Alberto Contador's attacks.

 

He finally got his own chance in last year's Giro and he delivered on his promises. He was involved in a close battle for the white jersey with Carlos Betancur and despite coming away without the coveted tunic, his 7th place was a very good result. First of all it proved that his climbs good enough to be up there with the best in the big mountains but more importantly it revealed that he has the ability to recover and consistently be in contention for three weeks of racing.

 

This year it will all be about confirmation for Majka. In last year's Vuelta, he got another chance to lead his team in a grand tour as he lined up as part of a four-pronged Tinkoff-Saxo approach but he faded out of contention in the Andorran cold. Two grand tours in a single season is a big racing burden for a 23-year-old rider and so there is no reason to put too much emphasis on the Spanish result but there is no doubt that this year's Giro is an important test of the young Pole's ability to recover.

 

Majka is a pure climber whose climbing style makes him appear to be almost at ease when he tackles even the steepest slopes, and last year's performance suggests that he has a very big potential. The mountainous course of this year's Giro suits him perfectly and he seems to excel on the long, regular ascents that litter the final week of the race. His main disadvantage is his time trialing skills but he proved in last year's Tour de Pologne that he has improved a lot in the discipline. Nonetheless, he will lose quite some time in Barolo and he needs to make it up on the climbs.

 

Majka has had a slow start to his season, with crashes and illness setting him back at different times. He wasn't on fire in Paris-Nice and missed the Volta a Catalunya due to a crash in the final stage. He showed the first signs of life by putting in a fine performance at the Criterium International and returned to competition in Romandie after an altitude training camp. In that race he clearly wasn't in his best form and this raises some questions about his current level.

 

Nonetheless, his performances in last year's Giro - and even more notably in last year's Il Lombardia - prove that he has the potential to become one of the best climbers in the world. It may still be a tad too early for him to finish on the podium but there is little doubt that the Pole is a future grand tour contender.

 

Ivan Basso (**)

Nothing has gone to plan for Ivan Basso since he stepped down from the podium after celebrating his 2010 Giro d'Italia win. In 2011, the veteran Italian had put all his energy into the 2011 Tour de France but an unfortunate crash during training ruined all his chances and he could only manage 7th. He had similarly bad luck one year later when another crashed ruined his Giro campaign and he had the unusual experience that his diesel engine faded during the final week. He still took 5th but it was a far cry from the win he had targeted.

 

In 2013 he had a smooth spring season and all was set for a return to the spotlight in the Giro. Just a few days prior to the start, he was once again unfortunate as a perennial cyst forced him to cancel his participation. His original plan of making amends at the Tour also came to nothing and instead he put all his eggs in the Vuelta basket.

 

At a time when most had started to write off him as a grand tour contender, Basso suddenly bounced back. A strong ride in the Vuelta a Burgos started to make people wonder if he still had a grand tour podium in his legs and when the race started in Galicia, it seemed that Basso was stronger than he had been for years. He rode a very solid first two weeks and almost looked like his former self on the climbs. By the time the race reached the Pyrenees, he was an obvious podium candidate but again it all came to nothing when the Andorran cold was too much for the skinny Italian who left the race due to hypothermia.

 

This year he has again focused solely on the Giro where he fills the usual role of Cannondale captain and on paper he has had a perfect build-up. He hasn't been hampered by any health issues but for some reason things haven't worked out for him. He has always been a slow starter and has never performed well in the early months of the season but in April he usually starts to show some signs of life. Despite entering both races with an ambition of being up there with the best, however, he has been far off the pace in both Trentino and Romandie.

 

Basso has admitted that things aren't go according to plan and that he is worried about his condition so close to the Giro. Nothing suggests that he can still find back the legs he had in last year's Vuelta and at his age, it obviously raises several questions.

 

Nonetheless, it would be dangerous to rule out Basso completely. First of all, his performance in the Vuelta proved that he can still perform at a very high level despite his age. Secondly, history proves that he has often bounced back in grand tours after performing poorly in his warm-up races.

 

Finally, the course design suits Basso perfectly. For his diesel engine, it is all about limiting the losses in the first two weeks before dealing his rivals a blow in the final week when they have started to tire. This year the first two weeks are rather easy while the final week is extremely hard. This should suit Basso's great recovery. Furthermore, there are several very big mountain stages with numerous climbs which is a further advantage for his monotonous climbing style. It also allows him more time to find the good legs that he is obviously lacking at the moment.

 

Before his doping suspension, Basso developed into an excellent time trialist but since coming back he has been far from that level and he will definitely lose a lot of time in Barolo. He needs to take it back in the mountains and that will be hard against the likes of Nairo Quintana and Joaquim Rodriguez. The days when Basso can win a grand tour are probably over but if he can find back the legs he had last September, a podium spot is still within reach. Unfortunately, the early part of the season doesn't suggest that he will manage to do so.

 

Fabio Aru (**)

Fabio Aru carries a big burden on his 23-year-old shoulders. His excellent performances during his U23 career and in his first year as a professional have made the Italian cycling fans dream that they are about to produce another great climbing star.

 

After finishing 2nd in the 2012 Baby Giro and having won the mountainous Giro della Valle d'Aoste twice in a row, Astana signed the promising Italian climber and he started his professional career midway through the 2012 season. In his very first race at the highest level, he made the world aware of his talents when he finished a fantastic second in the queen stage of that year's USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

 

Astana assigned their young climber a massive task very early when they lined him up at last year's Giro d'Italia despite having one of the race favourites, Vincenzo Nibali, in their ranks. However, Aru had proved himself ready for the challenge by taking fourth in the Giro del Trentino which was won by Nibali and the team even expressed hopes that he could fight for the white jersey.

 

After a solid start the race, Aru fell sick in the second week of the Giro and fell completely out of GC contention but he bounced back with an excellent ride in the queen stage to Tre Cime Di Lavaredo on the penultimate day when he finished fifth. Even though the GC dreams were never realized, that final performance was a very encouraging sign as it proved his ability to perform at the end of a grand tour.

 

Astana continue to polish their diamond and this year they have decided to line him up in the Giro with a protected status. Michele Scarponi is the team leader but Aru will also be expected to finish high in the overall standings and he has again set his sights on the white jersey. With Quintana still being eligible for that competition, it will be very hard for him to reach the latter objective but the race will still provide him with a first chance to focus entirely on the GC in a grand tour.

 

Unfortunately, Aru has been unable to reach his best form since last year's Giro and he struggled a lot in the second half of 2013. To allow him to stay fresh for the Giro, his team has deliberately given him a very light racing schedule in the spring and apart from two one-day races in Mallorca, he has only raced in Trentino and Catalunya. He performed well but unspectacularly in the latter race by taking 20th and then headed to an altitude training camp. He showed clear signs of progress when he returned in Trentino and ended the race in 7th.

 

Aru is a pure climber who will excel on this mountainous course and he will especially find the very long climbs in the final week to his liking. He will lose a lot of time in the Barolo time trial but with the mountains set to open up much bigger time gaps among the riders just below the top contenders, it shouldn't prevent him from finishing near the top.

 

Aru is one of the big question marks in the race as he still hasn't proved that he can consistently be up there with the best over three weeks. He has shown that he is strong enough to challenge the elite when he is at his best but whether he can keep it up for the entire race is still uncertain. However, his great performance at the end of last year's race indicates that he may have the capabilities to do so.

 

With very little grand tour experience, there is obviously a big risk that Aru will not live up to the lofty expectations and finish outside the top 10. On the other hand, his immense potential means that he can also be the big revelation in this race. As our assignment of stars is based on winning potential and not top 10 chances, we have made the gutsy move to put Aru up there among some much established grand tour riders. He may fail completely but if so it will only postpone what is likely to be a big breakthrough on the biggest scene.