Evenepoel and Roglic gear up for Giro battle

Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic will lock horns again in the year's first Grand Tour when the Giro d'Italia begins on Saturday with cycling fans anticipating a renewal of the battle that was sadly interrupted at last year's Vuelta a Espana.

Belgian tyro Evenepoel won his first Grand Tour race after Slovenian Roglic crashed on stage 16, ending what had been a stunning fightback by the Olympic road TT champion.

They will start as leading favourites for the Maglia Rosa in the 106th Giro - a three-week haul that starts at Fossacesia Marina on Italy's Adriatic Sea coast, covers 3,489 kilometres, climbs 51,000 metres and includes five brutal mountain stages.

The 23-year-old Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step), who made his Grand Tour debut at the 2021 Giro, has already shown great form this season and arrived in Italy on the back of winning the final spring classic, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

With two flat time trials in the first nine stages, Evenepoel will be looking to gain time on Jumbo-Visma rider Roglic, but some doubts remain about his durability when the steep mountain stages come thick and fast later in the race.

Roglic, third in 2019, silenced doubts about his recovery from the crash that ended his charge for a fourth Vuelta title, by winning three stages at Tirreno-Adriatico and the GC.

And he will already have marked stage 20 as potentially decisive - an 18km time trial up a vicious climb near the Italian border with Slovenia, almost home road for Roglic.

But there are many obstacles to overcome before then over a course that will expose any chinks in the armour.

"It's interesting to see them fighting again after the Vuelta last year," three-time Giro stage winner Philippe Gilbert, who will be analysing the race for Eurosport,