The mercury is rising ahead of the ‘grande partenza’ of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday 11th May. The 102nd edition of the Corsa Rosa immediately pitches the riders into its relentlessly combative route, with the first of three Individual Time Trials, an 8km test from Bologna up to the hilltop San Luca sanctuary to claim the year’s first Maglia Rosa.

21 stages later the riders reach Verona – with so much to be won or lost along the 3,518.5km route. The General Classification fight will be fierce, but as this year’s race, almost entirely ridden in Italy, also features six mountain stages with around 46,500m of climbing, the Points and Mountains classifications will make for epic battles.

The updated start lists are submitted to the race organisers – here’s what to expect:

Team Jumbo-Visma ’s Primož Roglič was recently reminiscing with media about his days as a fan, watching the 2013 Giro from the roadside.

Back then the Colombian was riding for Team Sky, on a fizik Aliante saddle, and looking for a GC podium, now it’s the Solvenian’s turn on his Antares 00. And it’s the three time trials combined with the climbing that could well play into the 29-year-old’s favor. While the Italian riders will naturally attract the most of the fans’ attention, this year’s route pushes the riders north-east in the final week, closer to Roglic’s homeland.

Team Ineos’ roster of riders remains constant from the Team Sky days, but the leadership of its first Grand Tour team is unfamiliar, youthful and exciting.

With Chris Froome electing not to defend his title, Geraint Thomas also concentrating on the Tour de France, and the highly talented 22-year-old Colombian Egan Bernal – who was expected to lead for the Giro 102 – suffering the misfortune of a broken collarbone, it’s a serendipitous opportunity for a young duo sharing the helm of the GC charge for the 102nd Giro: Pavel Sivakov, 21-year-old Russian winner of April’s five-stage Tour of the Alps, and the British rider with whom he combined so successfully in that race, Tao Geoghegan Hart: the 24-year-old came second overall, having picked up two stage wins.

Movistar Team’s line-up also features a late change. With World Champion Alejandro Valverde, who was initially planned to be a GC lead, forced to withdraw as he recovers from injuries sustained in a crash on his 39th birthday, leadership duties fall solely to the Spaniard’s compatriot Mikel Landa, who is hoping for a return to his brilliant best form, after a tough 2018.

Landa has previously hit the final GC podium at the Giro, as well as winning three individual stages and the Mountains Classification; and there is no doubt that his motivation is high to regain the winning feeling for himself and team team.

AG2R La Mondiale have decided to keep their powder dry on their most experienced General Classification campaigner, Romain Bardet, enabling him to focus purely on riding the Tour de France this season, rather than compete the Giro d’Italia as well. So after fighting eight Tours de France, 30-year-old Tony Gallopin is set to start the Corsa Rosa for the first time, as the GC leader.

Having already achieved stage wins at the Tour and Vuelta, he’d love to ‘complete the set’, although the stage hunting may come from elsewhere in his predominantly French pack: Alexis Vuillermoz is a dangerous puncheur and one to watch.

There will also be poignancy in the 2019 Giro, with a number of riders wearing special edition shoes – called Infinito R1 19 19 – that commemorate the centenary of the historic 1919 edition. Their eye-catching design includes a reflective material – see if you can spot them.

At the top level of 2018 road racing we saw strength, skill, bravery and risk from fizik riders… we witnessed teamwork and togetherness but also spirited individual brilliance. There were decisions made on pre-determined calculations, and others that can only be the sheer gut instinct of a racer who knows when to go – it’s the raw passion for winning that lights the flame within all racing fans. We all share that passion, but only the very best can translate it into performances that put all the others in the shade… performances like these:

Thomas wins the Tour on the Alpe d’Huez

The loyal lieutenant, the super-domestique, and one of the most popular riders in today’s peloton, few foresaw Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas as the 2018 Tour de France winner – but that’s exactly what he became.

The Welshman started in Noirmoutier-en-l’Île as the number one support act to four-time TdF winner Froome, but soon found himself with the strongest position of the GC contenders, triggering a series of question…

Could Thomas step out of the shadows and hang on to the lead? Will the other contenders overhaul him Would team orders dictate Thomas handing the win to Froome?

The Welshman did most to answer the questions with a sublime attack over the Alpe d’Huez – the first British rider to do so – which made hairs stand up on necks.

Backed up with another mountain-top stage win in San Bernando, Thomas enjoyed 11 days in in the maillot jaune on his way to Paris.

Valverde wins the Worlds on Höttinger Höll

Perhaps we left the most emotionally charged win til last, with the smiles of El Bala in Innsbruck, Austria.

Six times previously on the World Champs podium, but never before on the top step, the 38-year-old Spaniard pulled off one of the finest performances of his career to tame the ‘Hell’ hill no fewer than seven times, and see off a final selection of three other top class riders to sprint it home in Innsbruck.

For the 2019 campaign Alejandro Valverde is once again Movistar Team’s co-leader with Nairo Quintana and Mikel Landa – and this year the Spaniard rides wearing the exclusive Rainbow Stripes of World Champion.

But it’s not just a rainbow on his jersey… El Bala will also ride  with his new shoes and saddle, which bear the iconic rainbow colors. Infinito R1 Iride shoes have the same technical features as the Infinito R1 Movistar Team delivering unrivaled dynamic fit, lightweight breathability and exceptional power transfer. Antares 00 Iride saddle feature the familiar fizik carbon double shell and Carbon Mobius Rail. Both look amazing– and will be seen for the first time at the Mallorca Challenge, then February’s Vuelta a Andalucia, a race where he’s already a five-time winner.

Valverde will contest Paris-Nice in March and then return to Spain for the Vuelta a Catalunya.

In April he heads north for the Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège – a trio of important races across which he has a total of seven victories, although none have yet come for him at Liège.

But even the Ardennes Classics are a warm-up for Imbatido’s biggest challenges of his rainbow year, the Grand Tours: first it’s the Giro d’Italia in May, where he finished third on his only appearance. Then it’s the Vuelta a España (August-September), where El Bala has won outright once and finished on the GC podium no fewer than six times… he would love to secure another outright victory at the Spanish Grand Tour.

In late September, Yorkshire, England, presents the opportunity for Alejandro Valverde to defend the Famous Rainbow Jersey at the World Championships.