MILAN, Italy - The recent domination of the Giro d'Italia by cyclists from the host nation could be about to change as an especially strong field gets set to begin the 2008 edition Saturday.
Non-Italians at the starting line in Palermo with hopes of arriving first in Milan after the 21-stage race include last year's Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, his teammate Andreas Kloden and Russia's Denis Menchov, who won the 2007 Spanish Vuelta.
There will also be the usual strong field of Italians looking to make it 12 home victories in a row, including three who have already arrived in Milan with the victor's pink jersey. Among those is defending champion Danilo Di Luca, Paolo Savoldelli who won in 2002 and 2005 and Gilberto Simoni who was first in 2001 and 2003.
"I feel good and I feel like I did at the start last year, let's hope the result is the same," said Di Luca. "If Contador is in the same shape that he was last year in the Tour than he is certainly the favourite. But besides Contador there are many others."
Contador's condition might not be optimal as his Astana team got an invite from the Giro organizers only last week.
"Unfortunately I didn't have the time to prepare for this race sufficiently," said Contador. "I'm not in the best of condition so I will have to evaluate in the first days how things are going. It will be difficult at the beginning, but the objective is to arrive at the last week of the Giro in the right condition to be able to confront some very difficult stages."
Contador will try to be the first non-Italian to win the race since Pavel Tonkov of Russia in'96. In recent years many top stage-race cyclists such as seven-time Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong have chosen to skip the Giro and concentrate on the French race. Italy's Marco Pantani won both in'98, a feat that has not been repeated since.
Contador and his teammates were left to concentrate on the Giro after Tour De France organizers excluded Astana from the race because of doping violations in the past two years. Astana sporting director Johan Bruyneel called the decision "extremely unfair, illogical, ridiculous and arrogant."
Contador joined the Kazakhstan-backed Astana team in October after his previous team, Discovery Channel, disbanded.
"The Giro this year seems suited to my characteristics, for certain aspects it's more difficult that the Tour de France, but Astana will have many cards to play," said Contador.
The Giro has four time trials this year, though the contenders said the winner will be decided in the mountain stages as the Giro gets close to Milan.
"The Giro is won in the last week," said Di Luca.
Di Luca was acquitted last month of doping charges that could have led to a two-year ban and the loss of last year's Giro d'Italia victory, after an irregular test last year's Giro victory.
To combat doping, the UCI, cycling's governing body, has been taking blood and urine samples from more than 800 professional cyclists since the start of the year in a testing program to issue each rider a so-called "biological passport." All riders in the Giro have one of the passports.
On the eve of the race, Argentine cyclist Maximiliano Richeze was excluded after organizers said he tested positive for the steroid stanozolol three weeks ago in another competition.
Two riders already pulled out, as Spaniard David Arroyo fractured his arm in a crash in training Thursday, and was replaced by Caisse d'Epargne teammate Mathieu Perget of France. Astana's Benjamin Noval had an intestinal virus, and was replaced by Switzerland's Steve Morabito.
The 3,424-kilometre Giro has two rest days, six mountain stages and begins with a 23.6-kilometre team time trial in Palermo. Other time trials include one in the mountains and one on the last day when the race arrives in Milan on June 1.
Italy's Damiano Cunego, who won the race in 2004, is skipping this year's edition to concentrate on the Tour de France.
Also missing will be Italian sprint specialist Alessandro Petacchi, who said last week he would miss the race because of bronchitis, and was then given a one-year doping ban for excessive use of an asthma drug at last year's Giro.
Ivan Basso, who won the Giro in 2006, is also out as he serves the last months of his two-year ban as part of the Operation Puerto doping scandal.
Among the sprinters, the top prospects for stage victories are Italian Daniele Bennati and Australian Robbie McEwen.
Time trial specialist David Millar said his main goal for him and the American Slipstream Chipotle team is winning the Palermo team time trial.
"It's a hard race that just gets harder and harder as it goes on," said Millar. "I'm a little apprehensive, it's a scary prospect, especially that last week. We'll see. I'm scared, but excited."
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