Giro d’Italia – Froome and doom?

The 101st Giro d’Italia begins today (Friday) in Israel of all places with a 9.9km time trial. Four years after riding in Belfast the Giro once more takes itself to a city with a dark history – even more so in this case with the cycle of violence in Jerusalem showing no sign of ending, the Troubles of Belfast still in the memories but the days of actual bombings and shootings are over.

Defending champion Dumoulin (the Doom part of our headline) will play second fiddle to the main drawcard Chris Froome – who many if not most believe should not be racing given his salbutamol case is yet to be resolved. The four-time Tour de France winner maintains he has done nothing wrong although the tests speak for themselves – in his Vuelta a Espana last September he was found to have in excess of the allowed concentration of salbutamol, a drug used in asthma medical, in his system.

Even the UCI President David Lappartient believes Froome should not be racing in the Giro. Still, for his part Froome maintains he has the right to aim to hold all three Grand Tours at once, complaining the process was supposed to be confidential. He is also riding under a reported £1.6 million fee.

Friday the race is in Jerusalem, Saturday from Haifa to Tel Aviv, and finally on Sunday Be’er to Eilat. Monday is a rest day before the Giro regroups back in Italy on the island of Sicily.

Australia’s Rohan Dennis, Germany’s Tony Martin and Dumoulin are rated a chance for the first stage.

In Australia the Giro will be broadcast on Eurosport, available only on Foxtel or Foxtel Now.