By Kev Newton
Sir Bradley Wiggins heads up a strong British assembly as the 2013 Giro d’Italia rolls out of Naples on Saturday.
The Team Sky rider is a strong favourite to add the Giro’s maglia rosa to his Tour de France maillot jaune over the three-week race.
Wiggins leads a strong but otherwise Brit-free Sky line-up which includes Colombian mountain men Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao.
Uran and Henao finished seventh and ninth respectively in last year’s edition of the race and are expected to be Wiggins’ main support in his bid for pink.
Also with eyes on the pink jersey is Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) who is targeting the race lead over a flat first stage around Naples.
“For sure it would be a dream to take the pink jersey in the first stage,” Cavendish said.
“I’ve won the pink jersey twice before in my career. I’d love to do it again here in Napoli. It’s a special race here, the Giro d’Italia, so I’d like to get it started in a good way.”
After Saturday the Manxman’s overall goal will switch from pink to red as he targets the points jersey which he came so close to winning last year.
That is not the end of the home-grown interest, as British time trial champion Alex Dowsett (Movistar) makes his grand tour debut.
Dowsett will have plenty of opportunities to take the headlines from Cav and Wiggo as he targets the three TT stages, starting with Sunday’s team time trial.
Also representing the home nations are BMC‘s Steve Cummings and Adam Blythe.
Though playing a supporting role for Tour de France winner Cadel Evans, we can expect to see Blythe competing with Cavendish at the sharp end of the sprint stages.
Cummings, meanwhile, is capable of individual glory over rolling stages if given the opportunity to add to his grand tour stage win from last year’s Vuelta a España.
Completing the British contingent is Garmin-Sharp‘s David Millar, who will ride in support of last year’s winner, Ryder Hesjedal.
Millar has worn pink and won a stage in Italy previously, both in 2011 when he took victory in the individual time trial and lead the peloton for two days.
The Giro promises to be three weeks of intense racing with plenty of British interest throughout and hopefully a home-grown winner come its conclusion in Brescia on May 26th.
