Alpecin-Deceuninck: Can Groves overcome challenges to shine at the Giro with Hermans?

Alpecin-Deceuninck is of course also making an appearance at the Giro d'Italia, which starts Saturday in Turin. The Belgian WorldTour team is competing without Mathieu van der Poel or Jasper Philipsen, but they have multiple prospects with Kaden Groves and Quinten Hermans.

"Alpecin-Deceuninck is facing its tenth consecutive grand tour and has managed to win a stage in each of the last nine. That remains our goal for the next three weeks," they stated on Instagram. The team, led by the Roodhooft brothers, is especially counting on Kaden Groves. The 25-year-old Australian experienced the Giro for the first time last year, securing two podiums and a stage win. Since then, he added three stage victories and the green points jersey in the Vuelta, but his progress has been hindered by severe knee problems throughout this season, keeping him out of key spring races. The question remains whether he is fully recovered to compete against the formidable array of sprinters.

Hermans also aims for stage wins in his second Giro

In other stages, where the terrain is too hilly for Groves, Quinten Hermans will have the chance to hunt for stage wins. The 28-year-old from Antwerp rode his first Giro in 2021, finishing fifth in the fifteenth stage, but he is undoubtedly aiming for more. Moreover, Hermans is looking for some redemption after a victory in the Tour of the Basque Country and a sixth place at Brabantse Pijl, followed by a quieter performance in the rest of the Ardennes classics.

His compatriots Timo Kielich and Fabio Van den Bossche are making their debut in Italy and will join Edward Planckaert and Jimmy Janssens in forming Groves' sprint train. The Austrian Tobias Bayer and the Italian Nicola Conci will have more free roles.