VN podcast: Recon Ride previews the 2018 Giro d'Italia
The first grand tour of the 2018 season gets underway on Friday. The Giro d'Italia kicks off with a time trial in Jerusalem, making it the first grand tour to begin beyond European soil.\n\nThe start list is an impressive one, with Chris Froome (Sky) making an attempt at the first half of a Giro-Tour double \u2014 assuming he is not suspended for his adverse analytical finding for Salbutamol \u2014 and he's not the only big name set to be in attendance. Defending champ Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), and rising star Miguel \xc1ngel L\xf3pez (Astana) will also be in the mix for the three-week race.\n\nThe Recon Ride talks route and favorites ahead of the Italian grand tour \u2014 and also hears from GC contender Simon Yates, who forms part of a dangerous Mitchelton-Scott two-pronged attack with Esteban Chaves.