Eddie Dunbar & Luke Plapp for GC with Caleb Ewan for sprints; Team Jayco AlUla look to compete on multiple fronts at Giro d'Italia

With the first Grand Tour of the year coming ever closer, Team Jayco AlUla have unveiled their lineup for the race and it's one capable of competition on various fronts with both general classification and stage-winning hopes.

After finishing 7th overall last year, Eddie Dunbar returns to the Giro d'Italia as the team's leading general classification hope. “I’m looking forward to returning to the Giro and trying to repeat, if not improve last year’s good result. My preparation has been pretty ok, maybe not quite as well as last year but it will be nice to go back to the Giro fighting again," the Irishman previews to the team's official website. "This year’s course is very tough right from the start, the first two stages will probably be two GC days, and so you have to be ready from the very beginning. This year there will also be some gravel roads, the classic long alpine climbs and two challenging time trials. Basically, the usual hard and demanding Giro.”

With Dunbar supported by the likes of Luke Plapp, the Aussie-based outfit also bring a pair of experienced stage-hunters in Alessandro De Marchi and Filippo Zana, plus proven Grand Tour sprinter Caleb Ewan with his sprint train of Max Walscheid, Luka Mezgec and Michael Hepburn.

“I’m thrilled to return to the Giro after two years of absence. It’s a race that I have always liked and I have some great memories having previously won five stages. This year, I started my season with the Australian races, and then I won a stage in Oman before racing Tirreno-Adriatico," says Ewan. "This past month and a half I have been preparing for the Giro with a training camp at altitude and I will return to the races next Wednesday in Frankfurt before heading to Italy. I can count on the help of two great professionals like Luka (Mezgec) and Max (Walscheid) and I believe we can do good things.”

Eddie Dunbar
Filippo Zana
Caleb Ewan
Luke Plapp
Michael Hepburn
Max Walscheid
Luka Mezgec
Alessandro De Marchi