Canyon-SRAM, ranked No. 3 in the UCI world rankings, will field a group of climbers, including young stars Neve Bradbury and Antonia Niedermeier, for the Giro d'Italia women, July 7-14.

Two Giro veterans, Elise Chaby, returning for her fifth time, and Italian Soraya Paladin, making her 11th appearance in her home Grand Tour, will lead the GC hopes. Chaby won the mountains prize at the Tour de Suisse, while Paladin finished in the top 10 at both the RideLondon Classic and the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas.

"It's always a great Tour with many different stages and many opportunities. I'll be with two young and talented climbers, Neve and Antonia, and I'm looking forward to supporting them during the tour," said Chavy.

Agnieszka Karniak-Sojka, Alice Towers, and Myke van der Duyn will also be on the start line, all making their Giro debuts.

Last year's Giro runner-up, Kasia Niewiadoma, won the mountain prize at the Thuringian Ladies Tour a few days ago. Last week she signed a new contract with Canyon-SRAM that extends her at the World Tour level through 2026. She will now participate in a training camp before the Paris Olympics, compete in a road race as Team Poland, and then take part in the Tour de France Femme Avec Zwift as part of Canyon-SRAM.

"We came together and rode strong, especially in the Tour de Suisse," Bradbury said. He finished second in GC in this year's Swiss stage race, Niedermeyer was sixth, and Chaby was 14th.

"The Giro is our biggest goal this season. All our preparation has been for the Giro and we have done everything we can to be in top condition for this race. I have proven that I can fight with all the teams and I am ready for this Grand Tour."

After an individual time trial in Brescia to open the eight-day race, Van der Duyn will test his sprinting ability on the second stage. The next three days will be full of undulating terrain, and a group sprint is expected on stage 5 as well.

The final weekend, however, will be pure climbing in the Umbrian mountains. Stage 7 will climb Passo Lanciano twice, with an elevation gain of 3,700 meters, and finish at the top of the Brockhaus. The final stage between Pescara and L'Aquila will feature the first class climb of Castel del Monte.

"The Brockhaus is very important, but there are many stages that can make or break GC.

"Not everything is left to stage 7. The end of stage 4 is challenging with sharp and steep hills. Stage 6 is also interesting. The blockhouse is just as hard and depends on the leg strength of the day. Stage 8 is hilly and will be fatiguing for everyone. It's going to be an exciting Giro and I can't wait for the start."

Bradbury showed impressive climbing ability at last month's Tour de Suisse, winning his first WorldTour stage 3. Niedermeier, who won a stage of the Giro d'Italia in 2023 at age 20, is a two-time La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour He showed his climbing prowess with top 10 finishes and a top 10 GC finish at the Tour de Suisse.

The young climbing duo gives Canyon-Slam many options in the youth class as well as the overall class. According to Chaby, stage 3 is a chance to shake up the GC contenders before the weekend. This 111km stage is mostly flat from Sabbioneta to Toano, with a 10km climb up La Collina to the race's first summit finish.

"Stages 2 and 5 will be sprinters, stages 3, 7, and 8 will be GC, and stages 4 and 6 will be open. Stages 4 and 6 will be more open. "

See Cycling News' race report, results, photo gallery, news, and race analysis for the 2024 Giro d'Italia Women.