Yesterday Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi announced its 2013 Giro d’Italia line up with Samuel Sanchez scheduled to spearhead the team. As expected Sanchez will be the team’s main hope for the general classification as the team is built to support him in a mountainous Giro.

The first Grand Tour of the year starts in Naples in less than a week and the Spanish team has provided Sanchez with a vigorous squad to sustain his overall aspirations.

The former Olympic road race champion will be supported by Egoi Martinez, Jorge Azanza, Pablo Urtasun, Gorka Verdugo, Miguel Minguez, Ricardo Mestre, Ioannis Tamouridis and Robert Vrecer.

This year Sanchez will ride the Giro for the first time since 2005 when he finished 17th overall. In recent years the Spaniard has focused on the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. The 35-year-old has finished on the podium twice in his native Grand Tour and made the Tour de France top ten on numerous occasions.