The UAE Team Emirates will lean its strongest men, including four Italians, to support Fabio Aru in the Giro d’Italia, May 4 to 27.

The Emirates team will back its Sardinian climber, second in the 2015 Giro, with Darwin Atapuma, Diego Ulissi, Valerio Conti, Manuele Mori, Marco Marcato, Jan Polanc, and Vegard Stake Laengen.

Joxean Fernandez Matxin, Marco Marzano, Mario Scirea and Paolo Tiralongo will direct the team over the three weeks.

“Fabio is going to the Giro d’Italia with a huge desire to make an impact,” said General Manager Giuseppe Saronni. “This feeling of strong sentiment towards the Corsa Rosa will allow him to give his best in every situation.

At his side are a group of riders who share the same emotions and are able to manage the possible scenarios correctly. Italians, four of them, give this roster a strong local flavour to honour the Giro d’Italia and give the most attention to our fifth Italian, the national champion in the tricolour jersey, Fabio Aru.

The three non-Italians Atapuma, Laengen and Polanc have shown their love for this race and their ability to contribute enthusiastically to the group.

And let’s not forget that these riders know about success, just think of the six stage wins by Ulissi, two by Polanc and three by Aru. And Aru has been on the podium twice.

These are the details that can make the difference over three weeks of a grand tour even in the face of teams that look stronger on paper“.