With another incredibly exciting classics season complete, topped off with Demi Vollering and Remco Evenepoel's brilliant Liège–Bastogne–Liège victories, it's time to turn our attention to the first Grand Tour of the season — the Giro d'Italia.
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A favourite Grand Tour to many, the Giro signals the start of a jam-packed summer of racing on GCN+ as Evenepoel, Primož Roglič and British hopes Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Hugh Carthy battle for the famous maglia rosa. What's more, with La Vuelta Femenina running through the week prior to the Giro's Grande Partenza in Abruzzo, cycling fans can catch a month of almost daily racing action, pesky rest days aside.
From the opening time trial of La Vuelta on May 1st, all the way through to the Giro's final stage in Rome 27 days later, you can catch every attack, split, puncture, crash, stage win celebration, podium ceremony and post-stage interview, plus all the daily analysis from an A-list cast of pundits, for the monthly cost of a couple of coffees. It's even cheaper if you sign up for a year!
You'll be able to watch the action unfold on the big screen at home or take the drama with you wherever you go by downloading the GCN app and live streaming the racing on your smartphone. If life gets in the way you can always relive the stage in full with the on-demand catch-up service or dive into a tailored highlights package of the day's best bits.
If the racing isn't enough, GCN+ also has a stacked catalogue of original documentaries and features on just about anything and everything cycling-related, from in-depth profiles of the sport's legends (including a recently released at-length documentary following Italian legend Vincenzo Nibali's final year in the sport) to epic climbs and bikepacking adventures. There's even a dedicated Giro d'Italia collection to whet the appetite.
Not that you need to be persuaded, of course. What a month of Grand Tour drama we have in store — three time trials, including a 7km mountain effort averaging 12 per cent, summit finishes at the iconic Grand Sasso d'Italia and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, as well as all the usual stunning Italian scenery, challenging terrain and snow-capped mountains.
Last year's winner Jai Hindley goes in search of the Tour de France this summer meaning we could well have a new winner, Evenepoel, Roglič and Thomas looking to add a Giro crown to their palmarès. Or will fellow Ineos Grenadiers Brit Tao Geoghegan Hart, fresh from his hugely impressive stage wins and GC victory at Tour of the Alps, add a second maglia rosa to the one he won in 2020?
It's not just about the GC, Mark Cavendish — looking to return to form with his new team Astana Qazaqstan — is expected on the startline in Fossacesia Marina, with the Manx Missile to battle it out against former world champion Mads Pedersen, Fernando Gaviria, rising star Kaden Groves, Michael Matthews and Pascal Ackermann for the fast finishes.
Before all of that we've got the return of the week-long La Vuelta Femenina, with Annemiek van Vleuten — in her final season before retiring — looking to become the first rider to win the race in three consecutive years. This feat, if achieved, would extend her Grand Tour winning streak to five in a row.
With the race finishing with a summit finish atop the mythical Lagos de Covadonga, whoever pulls on the red jersey come Sunday is sure to have earned it.
So, if like us you can't wait to get stuck into a month of relentless racing, living and breathing every minute of every stage, don't miss a second of the action by checking out GCN+, the one-stop subscription service for cycling fans.
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Not necessarily. https://dgllc.net/recovering-the-costs-of-litigation/
Respect.
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