Giro d'Italia 2014 preview: The Giro starts in Belfast, Northern Ireland

Giro spectators in the Northern Ireland countryside

I've been a cycling fan for twenty-five years and in all of the past twenty-four I would never have believed that my wildest dreams of a Grand Tour starting in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I spent the first twenty-six years of my life, would actually come true. Yet here we are in 2014 and on the eve of the Giro d'Italia starting in that very city. It still seems surreal; I almost need to see it yet to believe it is actually happening. Northern Ireland will display itself in front -- and as the centre -- of the cycling world over the next few days as it kick starts this three week epic, and it makes me proud. I only wish I could have made a trip back to coincide with this historic moment.

Make no mistake, the Giro starting in Northern Ireland is the biggest sporting event to ever visit the country, at least that I am aware of. I'm not talking about numbers of athletes -- the annual Belfast marathon would have it beat every year in that category -- but in terms of the level of competition. The Giro d'Italia is the very sharp end of world cycling and the very best cyclists in the world will be competing. On top of that the race will go out to hundreds of countries on television screens watched by millions of viewers. It's a tourism coup for the provence and everything I've seen, heard and read so far about the planning and the build up suggests they're nailing it.

Tomorrow we'll see how it all comes together.

Belfast City hall in pink for the Giro

And how strange it will seem to turn on my television here in Canada to watch another big-time cycling race and to see the back drop of Belfast. To see the finest cyclists riding in Friday evenings team-time-trial through streets I know, past shops I've been in and, if the cameras focus in at the right moment, past people I recognise. Then on Saturday when the racing gets underway, to see the beautiful country side of the north-east coast of Northern Ireland as the race heads to Portrush, past the Giants causeway, down by the Antrim coastline and back into Belfast for what will likely be a bunch sprint. On Sunday they'll shift to Armagh to start the stage and head south over the border and down to Dublin, where likely we'll see another bunch sprint but certainly we'll see continued beautiful countryside.

The last time a Grand Tour visited Dublin was the 1998 Tour de France. That race was overshadowed by the Festina scandal, but I remember going to it and I remember the excitement around it as Chris Boardman won the opening prologue and Tom Steels won the bunch sprint into Phoenix Park. Giro organisers will be praying that it's not in the visiting of Dublin that invokes a massive scandal and that the racing is remembered for what happens on the road. I'm sure it will.

Belfast Telegraph front cover, 8 May, the day before the Giro begins

Of course, it's easy to get caught up in everything happening on the island of Ireland and forget that this is only the beginning of a three week journey. On Monday the riders will get a day off to head back to Italy. Typically these Grand Tours have two rest days, but they're getting three here because of the long journey, hence the Friday evening start. And that Monday can hardly be considered a rest day because of the trek they must make to Giovinazzo where Tuesday's stage will begin in the very southern part of Italy. If the riders are only beginning to adapt to the cool, wet weather of Ireland, then they'll get a rude awakening to the hot conditions that await them back in the races homeland.

And then the race will amble its way north and towards the high mountains along the very top part of the country where the race will truly be won and lost and the Giro in Ireland will be but a memory. Still I can only hope it is a memory that is recounted again and again and while it won't be a place that decides the winner on the road, it will be remembered as a place that lit up the event.

More previewed: The route ... three to watch ... prediction ... start list ... past winners...

Route

Three to watch...

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) The Spaniard is one of only two riders to have finished on the podium of all three Grand Tours but to have never actually won one, and at 34 years of age you have think his chances are running out. Last year he went to the Tour de France hoping to finally win there, but when it didn't happen and he seen the likes of Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and, reigning Giro champion but not entering this year, Vincenzo Nibali, targeting France, he turned his attention to and put all his eggs in the Giro basket. He stands a great chance and given his climbing ability, his entertaining style of racing and how close he has come in the past, not many would begrudge seeing him come good this year.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) At the other end of his career is 24 year old phenom, Nairo Quintana. The young Columbian burst onto the scene at last years Tour de France finishing second to Chris Froome and lighting up the mountain stages. Along the way he took one stage win, the mountain jersey and the white young riders jersey. Grand Tours are sure to come his way (though Rodriguez probably thought the same at a similar age) and his team have done well in putting him in here where he comes in as bookies favourite. Young legs are to his advantage here as the likes of Rodriguez and Cadel Evans will be there for the taking, especially into the third week, but whether he gained enough Grand Tour experience at last years Tour de France to win now remains to be seen. Along with Rodriguez though, they will be sure to put on a show.

Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) Martin may not even be the leader on his team -- that will likely fall to veteran Canadian and 2012 winner of the Giro, Ryder Hesjedal -- but the Irishman will want to impress more than ever given the race starts on his home island. Martin may seem like a surprise choice given he's never come that close to winning a Grand Tour before, but he has got the ability to climb with the best of them and if he can play it savvy he may find ways to take enough time out of the likes of Rodriguez and Quintana who are sure to gain some time on the highest of mountains. First though he needs to win the battle of his team leadership, but if Garmin play it right, they have two potential favourites who can work over the others and perhaps leave one or the other to climb onto the podium, at least. He's 27 and has proven himself in the one day classics and in the week long stage races and now needs to take the next step. Sean Kelly done that once (and at the same age took his first Grand Tour top 10 finish) and went on to win the 1988 Vuelta a'Espana. On top of that, Martin was the first Irishman since Kelly to win Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2013 ... something Kelly didn't win until he was a year older that Martin is now. Maybe it is a long shot, but given the races start, how can I not include him?

Notable others: Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp), Cadel Evans (BMC), Rigoberto Urán (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Michele Scarponi (Astana), Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale).

Start list...

Astana Pro Team
1 Michele Scarponi (Ita)
2 Valerio Agnoli (Ita)
3 Fabio Aru (Ita)
4 Janez Brajkovic (Slo)
5 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita)
6 Borut Bozic (Slo)
7 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa)
8 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita)
9 Andrey Zeits (Kaz)

AG2R La Mondiale
11 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita)
12 Davide Appollonio (Ita)
13 Julien Berard (Fra)
14 Maxime Bouet (Fra)
15 Axel Domont (Fra)
16 Hubert Dupont (Fra)
17 Patrick Gretsch (Ger)
18 Matteo Montaguti (Ita)
19 Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra)

Androni Giocattoli
21 Franco Pellizotti (Ita)
22 Manuel Belletti (Ita)
23 Marco Frapporti (Ita)
24 Yonder Godoy (Ven)
25 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned)
26 Marco Bandiera (Ita)
27 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven)
28 Diego Rosa (Ita)
29 Emanuele Sella (Ita)

Bardiani-CSF
31 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita)
32 Enrico Battaglin (Ita)
33 Nicola Boem (Ita)
34 Francesco Bongiorno (Ita)
35 Marco Canola (Ita)
36 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita)
37 Enrico Barbin (Ita)
38 Nicola Ruffoni (Ita)
39 Edoardo Zardini (Ita)

Belkin Pro Cycling Team
41 Wilco Kelderman (Ned)
42 Jetse Bol (Ned)
43 Rick Flens (Ned)
44 Marc Goos (Ned)
45 Martijn Keizer (Ned)
46 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned)
47 David Tanner (Aus)
48 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned)
49 Jos van Emden (Ned)

BMC Racing Team
51 Cadel Evans (Aus)
52 Brent Bookwalter (USA)
53 Yannick Eijssen (Bel)
54 Ben Hermans (Bel)
55 Steve Morabito (Swi)
56 Daniel Oss (Ita)
57 Manuel Quinziato (Ita)
58 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa)
59 Danilo Wyss (Swi)

Cannondale
61 Ivan Basso (Ita)
62 Oscar Gatto (Ita)
63 Michel Koch (Ger)
64 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita)
65 Alan Marangoni (Ita)
66 Moreno Moser (Ita)
67 Daniele Ratto (Ita)
68 Davide Villella (Ita)
69 Elia Viviani (Ita)

Colombia
71 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col)
72 Rodolfo Andres Torres Agudelo (Col)
73 Edwin Alcibiades Ávila Vanegas (Col)
74 Robinson Chalapud (Col)
75 Leonardo Duque (Col)
76 Jarlinson Pantano (Col)
77 Carlos Quintero (Col)
78 Jeffry Johan Romero Corredor (Col)
79 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col)

FDJ.fr
81 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra)
82 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra)
83 Arnaud Courteille (Fra)
84 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra)
85 Alexandre Geniez (Fra)
86 Johan Le Bon (Fra)
87 Francis Mourey (Fra)
88 Laurent Pichon (Fra)
89 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin)

Garmin Sharp
91 Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
92 Andre Fernando S Martins Cardoso (Por)
93 Thomas Dekker (Ned)
94 Tyler Farrar (USA)
95 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa)
96 Nathan Haas (Aus)
97 Daniel Martin (Irl)
98 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned)
99 Fabian Wegmann (Ger)

Lampre-Merida
100 Damiano Cunego (Ita)
101 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col)
102 Matteo Bono (Ita)
103 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita)
104 Roberto Ferrari (Ita)
105 Manuele Mori (Ita)
106 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol)
107 Jan Polanc (Slo)
109 Diego Ulissi (Ita)

Lotto Belisol
111 Maxime Monfort (Bel)
112 Lars Ytting Bak (Den)
113 Kenny Dehaes (Bel)
114 Gert Dockx (Bel)
115 Adam Hansen (Aus)
116 Sander Armee (Bel)
117 Tosh Van der Sande (Bel)
118 Tim Wellens (Bel)
119 Dennis Vanendert (Bel)

Movistar Team
121 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col)
122 Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (Crc)
123 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa)
124 Eros Capecchi (Ita)
125 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa)
126 José Herrada Lopez (Spa)
127 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa)
128 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa)
129 Adriano Malori (Ita)

Neri Sottoli - Yellow Fluo
131 Matteo Rabottini (Ita)
132 Giorgio Cecchinel (Ita)
133 Ramon Carretero (Pan)
134 Francesco Chicchi (Ita)
135 Daniele Colli (Ita)
136 Andrea Fedi (Ita)
137 Mauro Finetto (Ita)
138 Yonathan Monsalve (Ven)
139 Simone Ponzi (Ita)

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team
141 Rigoberto Uran (Col)
142 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita)
143 Thomas De Gendt (Bel)
144 Iljo Keisse (Bel)
145 Serge Pauwels (Bel)
146 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita)
147 Wout Poels (Ned)
148 Pieter Serry (Bel)
149 Julien Vermote (Bel)

Orica GreenEdge
151 Ivan Santaromita (Ita)
152 Luke Durbridge (Aus)
153 Michael Hepburn (Aus)
154 Brett Lancaster (Aus)
155 Michael Matthews (Aus)
156 Cameron Meyer (Aus)
157 Mitchell Docker (Aus)
158 Svein Tuft (Can)
159 Pieter Weening (Ned)

Team Europcar
161 Pierre Rolland (Fra)
162 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn)
163 Angelo Tulik (Fra)
164 Tony Hurel (Fra)
165 Davide Malacarne (Ita)
166 Maxime Méderel (Fra)
167 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra)
168 Romain Sicard (Fra)
169 Björn Thurau (Ger)

Team Giant-Shimano
171 Marcel Kittel (Ger)
172 Bert De Backer (Bel)
173 Simon Geschke (Ger)
174 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe)
175 Luka Mezgec (Slo)
176 Georg Preidler (Aut)
177 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned)
178 Albert Timmer (Ned)
179 Tom Veelers (Ned)

Team Katusha
181 Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver (Spa)
182 Maxim Belkov (Rus)
183 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita)
184 Vladimir Gusev (Rus)
185 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa)
186 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa)
187 Luca Paolini (Ita)
188 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa)
189 Eduard Vorganov (Rus)

Team Sky
191 Dario Cataldo (Ita)
192 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor)
193 Philip Deignan (Irl)
194 Bernhard Eisel (Aut)
195 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col)
196 Christopher Sutton (Aus)
197 Salvatore Puccio (Ita)
198 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr)
199 Ben Swift (GBr)

Tinkoff-Saxo
201 Nicolas Roche (Irl)
202 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den)
203 Rafal Majka (Pol)
204 Evgeny Petrov (Rus)
205 Pawel Poljanski (Pol)
206 Ivan Rovny (Rus)
207 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den)
208 Jay McCarthy (Aus)
209 Michael Rogers (Aus)

Trek Factory Racing
211 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro)
212 Eugenio Alafaci (Ita)
213 Julian Arredondo (Col)
214 Fabio Felline (Ita)
215 Danilo Hondo (Ger)
216 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita)
217 Boy van Poppel (Ned)
218 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn)
219 Riccardo Zoidl (Aut)

Past winners

1909 Luigi Gannaala
1910 Carlo Galettiala
1911 Carlo Galetti, Bianchi
1913 Carlo Oriani, Maino
1914 Alfonso Calzolari, Stucchi
1915 Race not held
1916 Race not held
1917 Race not held
1918 Race not held
1919 Costante Girardengo, Stucchi
1920 Gaetano Belloni, Bianchi
1921 Giovanni Brunero, Legnano
1922 Giovanni Brunero, Legnano
1923 Costante Girardengo, Maino
1924 Giuseppe Enrici,
1925 Alfredo Binda, Legnano
1926 Giovanni Brunero, Legnano
1927 Alfredo Binda, Legnano
1928 Alfredo Binda, Wolsit
1929 Alfredo Binda, Legnano
1930 Luigi Marchisio, Legnano
1931 Francesco Camusso, Gloria
1932 Antonio Pesenti, Wolsit
1933 Alfredo Binda, Legnano
1934 Learco Guerra, Maino
1935 Vasco Bergamaschi, Maino
1936 Gino Bartali, Legnano
1937 Gino Bartali, Legnano
1938 Giovanni Valetti, Frejus
1939 Giovanni Valetti, Frejus
1940 Fausto Coppi, Legnano
1941 Race not held
1942 Race not held
1943 Race not held
1944 Race not held
1945 Race not held
1946 Gino Bartali, Legnano
1947 Fausto Coppi, Bianchi
1948 Fiorenzo Magni, Willier Triestina
1949 Fausto Coppi, Bianchi
1950 Hugo Koblet, Guerra–svizzera
1951 Fiorenzo Magni, Ganna
1952 Fausto Coppi, Bianchi
1953 Fausto Coppi, Bianchi
1954 Carlo Clerici, Guerra–svizzera
1955 Fiorenzo Magni, Nivea–fuchs
1956 Charly Gaul, Guerra
1957 Gastone Nencini, Chlorodont
1958 Ercole Baldini, Legnano
1959 Charly Gaul, Emi–guerra
1960 Jacques Anquetil, Fynsec
1961 Arnaldo Pambianco, Fides
1962 Franco Balmamion, Carpano
1963 Franco Balmamion, Carpano
1964 Jacques Anquetil, St Raphael
1965 Vittorio Adorni, Salvarani
1966 Gianni Motta, Molteni
1967 Felice Gimondi, Salvarani
1968 Eddy Merckx, Faema
1969 Felice Gimondi, Salvarani
1970 Eddy Merckx, Faemino
1971 Gösta Pettersson, Ferretti
1972 Eddy Merckx, Molteni
1973 Eddy Merckx, Molteni
1974 Eddy Merckx, Molteni
1975 Fausto Bertoglio, Jollyceramica
1976 Felice Gimondi, Bianchi–campagnolo
1977 Michel Pollentier, Flandria
1978 Johan De Muynck, Bianchi–faema
1979 Giuseppe Saronni, Scic–bottecchia
1980 Bernard Hinault, Renault–gitane
1981 Giovanni Battaglin, Inoxpran
1982 Bernard Hinault, Renault-Elf-Gitane
1983 Giuseppe Saronni, Del Tongo–colnago
1984 Francesco Moser, Gis–tuc Lu
1985 Bernard Hinault, La Vie Claire–look
1986 Roberto Visentini, Carrera-Inoxpran
1987 Stephen Roche, Carrera Jeans-Vagabond
1988 Andy Hampsten, 7–Eleven Hoonved
1989 Laurent Fignon, Système U
1990 Gianni Bugno, Château D’ax
1991 Franco Chioccioli, Del Tongo Mg
1992 Miguel Indurain, Banesto
1993 Miguel Indurain, Banesto
1994 Evgeni Berzin#, Gewiss-Ballan
1995 Tony Rominger, Mapei–gb
1996 Pavel Tonkov, Panaria–vinavil
1997 Ivan Gotti, Saeco
1998 Marco Pantani, Mercatone Uno-Bianchi
1999 Ivan Gotti, Team Polti
2000 Stefano Garzelli, Mercatone Uno-Albacom
2001 Gilberto Simoni, Lampre-Daikin
2002 Paolo Savoldelli, Index–alexia
2003 Gilberto Simoni, Saeco Macchine Per Caffè
2004 Damiano Cunego, Saeco Macchine Per Caffè
2005 Paolo Savoldelli, Discovery Channel
2006 Ivan Basso, Team CSC
2007 Danilo Di Luca, Liquigas
2008 Alberto Contador, Astana
2009 Denis Menchov, Rabobank
2010 Ivan Basso, Liquigas-Doimo
2011 Michele Scarponi, Lampre-ISD
2012 Ryder Hesjedal, Garmin-Barracuda
2013 Vincenzo Nibali, Astana