Astana kicks off Giro d'Italia with an octet of freeriders: Cavendish and Bol are not present as expected

Alexey Lustenko was initially not supposed to appear at the start, but the versatile rider from Kazakhstan finally does. He recently added the Giro d'Abruzzo to his record of achievements. He also did well in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, eventually finishing in eighth place;

It is also likely that Lutsenko will have to take care of the good weather for the team, which, by the way, is leaving guys like Mark Cavendish and Cees Bol at home. Lutsenko is able to perform in several areas, so to speak, and should be seen as the main force within the octet.

Still, the blue briagde is also aiming for sprint success, mainly through leader Max Kanter, who most recently scored his first professional win after numerous top-ten finishes in the Tour of Turkey . Davide Ballerini is also a racer, although he seems to be put forward more as a lead-out. Henok Mulubrhan, Vadim Pronskiy and home riders Simone Velasco, Lorenzo Fortunato and Christian Scaroni are also in the race and complete the selection. Some things can certainly be expected of Fortunato in the absolute high mountains. 

Alexey Lutsenko
Max Kanter
Davide Ballerini
Henok Mulubrhan
Vadim Pronskiy
Simone Velasco
Lorenzo Fortunato
Christian Scaroni