Elia Viviani made it a double delight on Sunday as he won his second Giro d’Italia stage in a row in a bunch sprint finish at Eilat.
The Giro made history this year as it became the first Grand Tour to start outside of Europe with Friday’s individual time-trial in Jerusalem.
There followed two sprint stages through Israel, finishing in Tel Aviv and then Eilat before the whole peloton returned to its homeland for yesterday’s rest day ahead of Tuesday’s fourth stage in Sicily.
Here, we take a look at four key talking points ahead of the race’s return to Italy.
Big stages lie ahead
After three stages in Israel, the race finally heads to Sicily where there will be another three stages before returning to mainland Italy and north towards the Alps.
Although there has been some criticism that the route is not as testing as previous years, a new climb on the Mount Etna stage on Thursday will prove brutal – with some sections rising to 14 per cent gradient.
On stage 14, the Zoncolan is arguably one of the most draining climbs in Europe and will certainly test the mettle of some of the riders who will be hoping to clinch the pink jersey in Rome on May 27.
It’s a relentless 10km drag with an average drag of 12-22 per cent in some places making it perhaps the most difficult in the entire race.
Froome still racing under a cloud of controversy
The adverse analytical findings still loom large for Chris Froome as he heads to Italy for the most challenging part of the race.
The four-time Tour de France winner was courted to race the event for the first time since 2010, with a £2 million fee reportedly paid by the organisers to secure his participation.
The 32-year-old seems determined to win his first Giro despite the cloud that hangs over his involvement in the race.
Should he win the Giro and then be subsequently banned, he would be stripped of the title later on in the year.
Who are the contenders in Italy?
Froome may be the favourite, but defending champion Tom Dumoulin looks a serious threat again after his win in stage one on Friday.
The 27-year-old Dutchman has the legs and power to overcome Froome on the time-trials – as proven during the 2016 Rio Olympics when he beat the Englishman to silver.
Other big names to consider for a shot at the pink jersey are 2015 Vuelta a Espana winner Fabio Aru, Frenchman Thibaut Pinot and Esteban Chaves of Colombia.
But with such a powerful team at Froome’s disposal, can Dumoulin or any of the other riders put a halt to Team Sky’s dominance?
Young riders set to show their class
If some of the younger riders get a chance, then expect either Lopez or Simon Yates two to make a solid impression.
Lopez (24), in particular, has drawn much hype leading into the Giro after his storming displays in the mountains during the Tour of the Alps and the Tour of Oman.
Englishman Simon Yates (25), meanwhile, has continued to improve and narrowly missed out on victory in Paris-Nice last month, finishing second behind Spain’s Marc Soler.
In the three stages of the race to date, Yates has been more impressive than the Colombian with a sixth place finish in stage one and a 16th place finish in stage three – but expect both rising stars to have a say in Sicily this week.
