Defending champion Stefano Pirazzi leads Bardiani-CSF at this year’s Giro and is one of a number of riders from the Italian Pro Continental team who could compete for the blue jersey this time out. While his ultimate his ambition is to contend for the GC, with his time trialling ability certainly suggesting he could do just that in future, he may well find another crack at the maglia azzurra more rewarding this time out.

Should he not launch a bid for the blue jersey however, there will be no shortage of his team-mates looking to trade their bright green jerseys for the maglia azzurra. Marco Canola won the classification at Tirreno-Adriatico, while Nicola Boem has been a regular in the breaks this season. Francesco Bongiorno also produced a strong showing at Tirreno-Adriatico – where he was second to Pete Kennaugh (Team Sky) on stage four – to leave Bardiani plenty of options when it comes to making a mark on this year’s race.