The 2019 Giro d’Italia is nearly upon us, Paul Knott and Yanto Barker highlight the key stages, showcase the GC contenders and sprinting favourites before making their own picks for who will wear the Maglia Rosa at the end of the race in Verona. This year’s race takes place almost solely in the north of Italy, baring a quick detour into San Marino, and is bookended and split in half by three individual time trials. The Big Start is in Bologna with a short 8.2km test against the clock, before a number of sprint or short uphill finishes are the general theme of the race before the second time trial in San Marino before the first rest day. The first 11 stages favour the sprinters, and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see a few riders jumping on a plane out of the country when the mountain ranges arrive from stage 12 onwards. This is where the Alps and Dolomites will decide the fate of the Maglia Rosa, with fearsome ascents of the Mortirolo and Passo Gavia to come, before the final stage test against the clock around Verona.