When Rigoberto left Team Sky for Etixx-QuickStep, it was to win the Giro d’Italia. However, the Colobian’s lack of support left him in second place in 2014, right where he had finished with Sky 12 months previously. Now he has joined Cannondale, and he has the climbers to support him.

“I’m still the same person, what is changing with time is that there is a greater pressure each year from the team,” Uran said at his pre-race press conference. “But I also put more pressure on myself. It’s because I’ve been close to getting the overall victory, but it hasn’t arrived yet, so the pressure to win gets higher as time goes by. However, I’m handling that well. I know what I’ve done right and what I’ve done wrong in the past, and even if there are more rivals, I’m ready to challenge again for the Giro victory.”

Uran has always been a strong climber, but since he spent time at Etixx-QuickStep, he has become comfortably the best time triallist of the GC favourites at the last three Giros, although he will need to fight for that title this year with Tom Dumoulin and Ilnur Zakarin present. This may be his biggest key to winning the race, especially the 40km rolling TT on stage nine.

“I’ve seen it and it’s very lumpy, and technical as a course, more so than two years ago, but it will be similar to Barolo,” he said. “Then in the last week, the final three mountain stages will be critical to the overall outcome, as ever.”