The Ag2r-La Mondiale team at the Giro d'Italia will be fully devoted to Domenico Pozzovivo and his quest to finish on the podium in his home grand tour. The tiny climber can expect fabulous support in the mountains from Hubert Dupont, Maxime Bouet and Alexis Vuillermoz while Davide Appollonio will try his luck in the sprints.

Having shown great condition at the recent Giro del Trentino and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Domenico Pozzovivo heads into the Giro d'Italia with lots of confidence as he spearheads a strong Ag2r team in the Italian grand tour. After finishing in the top 10 two years in a row, the Italian hopes to finally crash the podium in his home race.

For several years, Pozzovivo had reputation as a perennial disappointment in the Giro but over the last few years he has started to shine in the three-week races. In addition to the recent top 10 places on home soil, he finished sixth in last year's Vuelta a Espana, his best ever performance in a grand tour.

Pozzovivo is heading into the race with lots of confidence after he finished 2nd in the Giro del Trentino and went on to animate Liege-Bastogne-Liege before taking 5th overall. He finds himself in a completely different situation than he did one year ago when he broke his ribs in Trentino and entered the race with lots of uncertainty.

With Carlos Betancur, Jean-Christophe Peraud and Romain Bardet all focusing on the Tour, Pozzovivo will be the undisputed leader of the Ag2r team and he can expect great support from his strong teammates. Hubert Dupont who has finished close to the top 10 in the past, new climbing sensation Alexis Vuillermoz  and Maxime Bouet who will be the team's second GC option, will be at his side in the mountains where he can also count on the always reliable Matteo Montaguti.

For the opening team time trial, Patrick Gretsch will provide lots of firepower while Julien Berard and young Axel Domont will be on hand in the flat stages. Davide Appollonio will try to mix it up in the bunch sprints as he returns to form after a year with injury struggles.

Ag2r-La Mondiale for the Giro:

Domenico Pozzovivo, Maxime Bouet, Hubert Dupont, Alexis Vuillermoz, Patrick Gretsch, Matteo Montaguti, Julien Berard, Axel Domont and Davide Appollonio