The Giro d'Italia trophy at the 2018 event presentation (Image credit: Bettini)

With the 2018 Giro d'Italia less than 24 hours away, Cyclingnews and Procycling look ahead to the first Grand Tour of the season.

Analyzing the route with Cyclingnews' European Editor, Stephen Farrand, and featuring Chris Froome and defending champion Tom Dumoulin, we look ahead to the next three weeks, with the Giro starting in Israel on Friday with a 9.7km time trial. The race heads to Sicily after Monday's first rest day, before arriving on the Italian mainland for stage 7. It's a route that's designed to with both the climbers and time trialists in mind, and the start list is packed with stars. The race contains eight mountain stages, with Etna, the Monte Zoncolan, and three back-to-back stages in the mountains in the final week set to decide the race.

Away from Froome and Dumoulin, Italy's hopes rest on Fabio Aru – who has made the podium on two occasions. Esteban Chaves, Miguel Angel Lopez, Simon Yates, Michael Woods, Rohan Dennis, Thibaut Pinot and Davide Formolo are also in the mix. The CN and Pro teams look at the strengths and weakness of all the potential contenders and make some bold predictions when it comes to the final podium for Rome on May 27.

The Cyclingnews podcast is brought to you in association with Prendas Ciclismo, Pinarello and Floyds of Leadville. Click here to subscribe.