Spain's Alberto Contador, winner of last year's Tour de France, is the man to beat in the 91st Giro d'Italia which kicks off with a team time-trial here on Saturday.
This year's edition, with its unprecedented four time trials and five vertical peak-top run-ins, is tailor-made for the tough Spaniard, experts say.
Other contenders include last year's Giro winner Danilo Di Luca, Tour of Spain winner Denis Menchov of Russia and Contador's team-mate Andreas Kloden of Germany.
The 2001 and 2003 Giro winner, Gilberto Simoni, and 2002 and 2005 winner Paolo Savoldelli shouldn't be too far off the pace along the 21 stages on the 3,430km route.
A late-breaking contender is Italy's upcoming Riccardo Ricco', pundits say.
After Sicily, the race winds up through Rome, Tuscany and the central Apennines before the decisive stages in the Dolomites and Alps.
A 14km mountain time trial on stage 16 and the storied climbs to Passo del Gavia and Passo del Mortirolo on the second-last day are expected to decide the outcome.
The Giro ends on June 1 with the traditional flat run-in to Milan.
