Chris Froome declined to commit to defending his Giro d’Italia title as the route was announced on Wednesday.
The Team Sky rider won the Italian Grand Tour in May to complete a remarkable ‘grand slam’ as it followed on from his Tour de France and La Vuelta wins in 2017.
Froome attempted an ultimately unsuccessful Giro-Tour double this year as he went on to finish third in the Tour de France, which was won by team-mate Geraint Thomas – leaving Froome still one short of matching the record of five Tour victories jointly held by Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain.
Whoever does race the Giro will face a balanced route which takes place almost entirely within Italy’s borders following last year’s start in Israel, venturing out just once on an individual time trial into San Marino.
Over the course of 3,518km, the riders will tackle famed climbs including the Passo Gavia and Passo del Mortirolo and lesser known gems such as the Colle de Nivolet to Lake Serru, which appears on stage 13.
There are a total of seven summit finishes – two of them on individual time trials. The final week is loaded with mountain tests but the overall winner will not be known until the final day and a third individual time trial which finishes in Verona’s amphitheatre.
