Ineos Grenadiers has named its Giro d'Italia team, to be led by Egan Bernal and Pavel Sivakov. The line-up does not feature the race's defending champion Tao Geoghegan Hart.
The omission of Geoghegan Hart, and also the fact Irish rider Eddie Dunbar's name is not on the team sheet, were both expected.
While many Irish cycling fans will be disappointed that Dunbar is absent, especially as he rode so well in the race on his Grand Tour debut two years ago, it was never anticipated he would ride the Giro. The 24-year-old Cork rider is expected to ride La Vuelta towards the end of the season.
Ineos Grenadiers has named a very strong team to support Sivakov and Bernal at the Giro, which starts on Saturday with an 8.6km TT in Turin. The line-up includes top climbers Jonathan Castroviejo and Daniel Martinez.
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There are also some very versatile riders in the shape of world TT champion Filippo Ganna and compatriot Salvatore Puccio, one of only two riders who have been with Ineos Grenadiers, formerly Team Sky, uninterrupted since the team began. Jhonatan Narvaez and the resurgent Gianni Moscon are also included in the British team’s roster for the first Grand Tour of the year.
While Bernal is still only 24-years-old and already has a palmares most pro riders could only dream of, he goes into this race with everything to prove and with very significant pressure on his shoulders.
Bernal was touted as the rider to carry the team into a new era and after its first decade was marked by Bradley Wiggins ushering it into the big time by winning the Tour in 2012, Chris Froome winning four of the next five Tours, as well as two Vueltas and a Giro, and Geraint Thomas winning the 2018 Tour.
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However, while Bernal won the 2019 Tour de France he has been beset with lingering health and injury issues for over a year. And while he has ridden well to date this year he has been a long way off his best and must get back to winning ways soon.
His every move, especially in the opening week, will be watched closely to assess if his back injury is sufficiently under control to allow him to challenge for Giro victory. He must also earn his place in the team's Tour line-up on the basis of his Giro performances.
For Sivakov (23), the Giro will be a chance to step up and become one of the team's automatic leaders in stage races, specifically Grand Tours; not an easy task an Ineos Grenadiers.
He has been with the team since 2018, joining when he was just 20-years-old and the reigning Baby Giro champion. While he has won some great races with Ineos Grenadiers, those results are concentrated around his early days with the team. As a result, and like co-leader Bernal, he goes into this Giro needing to remind pro cycling what he can do.
His overall victory at the Tour de Pologne in August 2019 suggested his career had taken a giant step forward but he has failed to take a victory since then. He has not crossed the line 1st in any race for over two years - April, 2019, at the Tour of the Alps. However, Covid-19 and a very bad crash on stage 1 of the Tour last year heavily impacted his ability to perform and he is capable of shining at this Giro.
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