Lidl-Trek will be looking for a stage win at the Giro d'Italia and will build a lead-out train to support Jonathan Milano, while recent Tour of the Alps winner Juanpe Lopez will be hoping for a mountain stage win.

Tao Geoghegan Hart, Matthias Skjelmors, Quinn Simons, and Mads Pedersen will join Lidl-Trek's Tour de France lineup. Andrea Bagioli, Simone Consonni, Ammanuel Gebré Xavier, Dern Houle, Jasper Steuben, and Edward Theuns will be among the eight riders competing in the Corsa Rosa.

Stuyven broke his collarbone at Dwars door Vlaanderen on March 27, but has returned to training and will be part of the lead-out to Milan with Consonni and Theuns.

He took a stage win and the cyclamen points jersey at the 2023 Giro d'Italia, and won the Tirreno-Adriatico sprint twice ahead of Jasper Philipsen.

Six or seven sprint wins are expected in this year's race. The Giro d'Italia starts in Turin on Saturday, May 4, and opens with a hilly course, followed by a mountain finish in Oropa on Sunday. Sprint opportunities begin in the first week, with the third stage to Fossano expected to be a sprint finish.

The entry list for the Giro d'Italia includes sprinters Olaf Kooij (Visma-Ries-a-Bike), Fabio Jacobsen (Dsm-Farmenich-Post NL), Caleb Yuan (Jayco Alura), Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) Alberto Dainese (Tudor), Kayden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché Wanty), Sam Welsford (Beulah Hansgrohe), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Juan Sebastian Morano (UAE Team Emirates).

"With sprinters like Milan, we will try to finish as fast as possible," explained coach Gregory Rast.

"He is the leader of the sprints and his points jersey win can be repeated this year. We know his potential, but of course we cannot ignore strong competition.

"Therefore, we will support Johnny with Teuns and Consonny.

"The time to recover that form for the Giro was minimal, but both the team and Jasper were very motivated to get him to the start. The first week will help him regain his lost confidence, and after that he will not only help Johnny lead out, but also take his own chances.

Lopez wore the maglia rosa for 10 days and won the Best Young Rider white jersey in 2022. Now 26, the Spanish climber returns to the Giro in impressive form.

"More than anyone else, Juanpe Lopez has proven he is ready for the Giro. His victory in the Tour de l'Alps speaks for itself," Rast said. [As already proven in 2022, the Italian mountains suit him well. And every day we will continue to see the evolution of the GC contenders. And considering that there are two long time trials, this should be a decisive goal in his quest for GC.