Egan Bernal will lead the powerful Ineos Grenadiers team in the Giro d'Italia, looking to win his second Grand Tour as the 2019 Tour de France winner. The race will begin with a time trial in Turin on May 8 and conclude with a time trial in Milan on May 30. According to the team, Bernal will share leadership with Pavel Sibakov. Bernal and Sivakov will be supported in the mountains along with eight other Ineos riders, including Jonathan Castroviejo and Daniel Martinez. Time trial world champion Filippo Ganna, Salvatore Puccio, Honatan Narvaez, and Gianni Moscon are also on the team, but last year's winner, Tao Geoghegan Hart, is not included as he heads to the Tour de France this summer, as expected

Bernalbaes.

Bernal suffered a back injury in last year's Tour de France and was forced to abandon the race. He spent the winter trying to find a long-term solution to the injury and has shown signs of his former form with a string of impressive results in recent months. He finished third overall at the Tour de la Provence, second at the Trofeo Raigeli, and third at the Strade Bianche. He finished fourth in Tirreno-Adriatico, but did not race in March, remaining in Colombia to make final adjustments before the first Grand Tour of the season.

"My goal in this year's Giro is to get back to being Egan, who likes to attack and is not afraid of being dropped," Bernal told La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab) earlier this year.

"I am 100% prepared to do well in the Giro, but obviously other riders are also preparing to win. I'm not going to race alone."

Bernal will share the leadership with former U23 rival Pavel Sivakov, the Russian, who made his debut at the Giro d'Italia two years ago and finished inside the top 10 after a strong showing in the mountain race.

Sivakov recently told Cycling News that he will support Bernal in the mountains and that the Colombian will race as the favorite to win the Ineos. But he also added that there is more freedom within the race.

"I think it's good to have different options," Sivakov told Cycling News in an exclusive interview.

"Obviously, Egan will be number one. There's no doubt about that. He won the Tour de France and he has more wins than me. I know he is number one, but if I can show progress, it will be good for the team to have another rider to rely on. The Giro is a more open race, so it helps to have two of them. If there is a day that I have to sacrifice my chances to help him win a race, I will definitely do that. It's cycling, anything can happen

"For me, the Giro is an important part of the development process for GC. After last year's Tour, I first wanted to go back and get my revenge. After talking to the team, I realized that the Giro was a much better choice because it gives me more freedom and more chances to do things on my own. It's a good step for me. People think I have the potential to do it, and I think so too. But of course, if Egan gets the jersey, the race situation could change.

Martinez and Castroviejo will add much needed steel and experience to the climbing group within the Giro d'Italia team. [Eddie Dunbar, Ben Swift, Owain Doull, Andrei Amador, and Sebastian Henao, who were all in contention, were also eliminated.

Salvatore Puccio has run the Giro d'Italia seven times in his long career, winning the maglia rosa in 2013. One of the most loyal and underrated domestiques in the peloton, the Italian can handle many roles, and the 31-year-old, who has competed in the Giro every year but one since 2013, is one of the most experienced riders on the team.

Ineos Grenadiers Giro d'Italia 2021 lineup: