UAE Team Emirates riders "excited" by taking part in historic 100th Giro

Sport360 staff 17:20 02/05/2017
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    • The UAE Team Emirates line-up.

    Starting in Naples, the first Grand Tour of the season takes place from Friday, May 5 and running until Sunday, May 28 with 21 stages contested for the famous winner’s Pink Jersey – the Maglia Rosa.

    Three-time stage winner at the Tour de France, Rui Costa will seek stage wins for UAE Team Emirates on his Giro d’Italia debut.

    “This will be my first participation at the Giro, I’m excited, motivated and looking forward to a competitive debut at the 100th edition of this race,” said Costa. “I believe that there are some stages with courses that are suited to my strengths.

    “I’ve recently undergone altitude training on Mount Etna in preparation for the Giro. Of course a victory during my debut in this special edition of the race would be incredible and I will give it everything I have to win some stages this year.”

    Sprinter and team-mate Sacha Modolo will also be looking for stage wins and the Italian rider is excited about taking part of such an historic edition of his nation’s grandest cycling race.

    “For an Italian rider, the Giro d’Italia is the dream,” said Modolo. “I’m fortunate to have previously won two stages at the Giro and I cant wait to be able to race there again and hopefully relive the incredible rush I felt when winning.

    “I am hoping to be the leader of my nation’s race and be able to don the Pink Jersey. We have a strong line-up and I am relying on a team effort to put me in a great position for the sprints”.

    The Giro d’Italia has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, with 2017 marking its centurion edition.

    It is one of a trio of three-week Grand Tours that include the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana.

    While the route changes each year, the format of the race remains the same, with at least two Time Trials, a passage through the mountains of the Alps, including the Dolomites.

    The team’s line-up includes two riders who have clinched stage wins at the Giro d’Italia in previous years: Modolo, who obtained two stage victories in 2015, and Jan Polanc, winner of the Abetone stage in 2015.

    Marco Marcato, Matej Mohoric, Valerio Conti, Roberto Ferrari, Simone Petilli and Edward Ravasi complete the line-up.

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