Twenty-one stages, 3572 kilometres. In a few days, on May 5th, the edition number 100 of the Giro d’Italia will start from Sardinia and return to the Italian peninsula after two stages in Sicily. The final stage will see the peloton arrive in Milan for the 76th time, on May 28th.

The “Corsa rosa” will include six sprint stages, eight stages of medium difficulty climbing, five highly testing climbing stages and two individual time trials (for a total of 67.2km) including the stage that will close the 100th Giro, from the famous Monza racetrack to the Milan Cathedral. The iconic Stelvio Pass is the 2017 Cima Coppi.

“It's a very nice challenging route - says sport director Gorazd Štangelj - from the start to the finish in Milan. Distractions have not been allowed since the first stages in Sardinia and Sicily. Among the most important stages, the Foligno’s time trial and the one with the double climbing of Stelvio over 2000 meters’ altitude”.

"Vincenzo and the whole team - emphasizes sports director Paolo Slongo - has done a good preparation as seen at the recent Tour of Croatia. We are ready. The team was designed to help our solo leader Nibali and for this reason the group from the beginning of the season has always worked and ran with Vincenzo."
 

"There are athletes - he continues - as Siutsou, Visconti. Moreno and Pellizotti will work more uphill, while Boaro, Gasparotto and Pibernik are better suited to helping in plain or mixed stages. Valerio Agnoli will be the team's jolly. "
 

"I am very pleased to be part of Giro100," said Vincenzo Nibali - I like also because the route touches the two islands - Sardinia and Sicily - which rarely see the "great cycling". It will be very exciting arriving in my hometown Messina. Dreams and aspirations? No doubt, give my best and then will be the road to decide the winner."

Along with him, the Italian Enrico Gasparotto, just returned from the Belgian classics. "It will be my seventh Giro d'Italia, a race that I really enjoy. My job, like that of my other teammates, will be to stay close to our captain. I hope to see many Bahrain Merida’s fans on the roads.”

Team BAHRAIN MERIDA’s roster: Vincenzo Nibali, Valerio Agnoli, Manuele Boaro, Enrico Gasparotto, Javier Moreno, Franco Pellizotti, Luka Pibernik, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Giovanni Visconti