If France is crying on the eve of the 2022 Tour de France, Italy is not laughing.

There will be only a dozen blues at the start of the Grande Boucle from Copenhagen, next July 1st . An abysmal difference compared to the large holdings of the 1990s and 2000s: an eloquent photograph of the state of difficulty in which our movement finds itself. Let's try to think positively and describe who can give us some satisfaction. Also from a Fantacycling perspective.

This is the case of Filippo Ganna (Team Ineos) who costs 28 million: great favorite of the opening time trial, he could win the yellow jersey and keep it a few days in a first week that suits his characteristics. If in the time trials we field the strongest in the world, things get complicated for the general classification.

The only hope is Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorius, costing 31), second last year in the Giro d'Italia, aiming for an important placement alongside his teammate Jack Haig. The Sicilian is among the eligible candidates to wear the polka dot jersey of leader of the climbers but will have formidable opponents, especially French and South Americans, ready to sell their skin dearly. For the rest we are definitely aiming for the escapes and stage victories with Matteo Trentin (23) of the UAE Emirates who, if called up, will have to remain alongside the captain Tadej Pogacar in particular in the first stages, with Mattia Cattaneo (14), provided that the Quick Step chooses him among the eight starters at the start, and with Alberto Bettiol of Ef Education EasyPost (20). For the Tuscan, the question mark after the Tour of Switzerland remains, where he was forced to retire due to Covid. If he should recover, we will certainly see him as the protagonist.

Finally Giulio Ciccone (19) of Trek Segafredo, but shadows of a too fluctuating condition hover over him (see the recent Giro). At the start, the sparse Italian patrol will also have Alberto Dainese (13), now top sprinter of Team DSM, and almost certainly Andrea Pasqualon (10) of Intermarchè Wanty Gobert, last man of Alexander Kristoff, Daniel Oss (1) of Total Energies, tireless worker for Peter Sagan, and the Astana duo made up of Samuele Battistella (5) and Gianni Moscon (15). The surprise of the last hour could be Luca Mozzato (1) of B&B Hotels, a man however suited to the classics of the North.

Photo Sprint Cycling

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