Giro d'Italia | Almeida and Gaviria lead diverse UAE Team Emirates lineup

UAE Team Emirates will be heading to the Giro d'Italia with João Almeida on the helm, however with a lineup capable of fighting for several kinds of stages, as the team will also be eyeing the wins in Italy.

With a lot of the team's main figures pointing towards the Tour de France title defence, freedom has been given to João Almeida to headline the team at the Giro where he will be targeting the final podium: “This is a special race for me , I have great memories here and I’m excited to come back together with a great team looking for some good results together. The preparation for the Giro has gone really well. Since my last race I’ve been training at altitude in Sierra Nevada, Spain with some of my teammates and we have an excellent group assembled."

Although Almeida carries big ambitions, he will be supported in the mountains by a group of puncheurs. It's a team that shouldn't have an easy time in the passes, however in the hilly stages they should thrive. With Alessandro Covi, Diego Ulissi and Davide Formolo the team should also be capable of hunting stages in breakaways.

Team DS Fabio Baldato has added that the team will also be eyeing the sprints, as Fernando Gaviria returned to competition and will be joined by Max Richeze who will be doing the final race of his career. "Gaviria is also back from injury and is looking good again so we’ll have that card to play in the sprint stages," he said. "We have huge experience among our line-up and we are motivated for what we hope will be a beautiful race.”

In support of Almeida, Portuguese duo Rui Costa and Rui Oliveira complete the squad in support of the 23-year old.

UAE Team Emirates for Giro d'Italia: João Almeida, Alessandro Covi, Rui Costa, Davide Formolo, Fernando Gaviria, Rui Oliveira, Max Richeze and Diego Ulissi.