San Lorenzo Dorsino has been ready for days for the grand start of the Tour of the Alps 2025, which kicks off today with a 148.5 km stage starting and finishing in the Trentino town. Yesterday at the Municipal Theater, the team presentation took place, and on this occasion, some of the expected big names also spoke.

Among the top favorites is Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), in full preparation for the Giro d'Italia. While at the Corsa Rosa he will likely play a supporting role to Primož Roglič, in the euroregional race he can aim for the big target, with the awareness that any day could be the right one to make his mark and raise his arms to the sky again, a sensation he has missed since July 2023. At Tirreno Adriatico, where he finished 5th, there were encouraging signals in this regard.

"I'm super happy to return to the Tour of the Alps after several years," explained the Australian, winner of the 2022 Giro. "In 2021, things didn't go according to plan because unfortunately I crashed. For a rider with my characteristics, there couldn't be a better race because there are climbs every day, I couldn't imagine anything better. It's a race that promises to be very open, with an excellent roster of participants. The level will be extremely high, as it is now in any race, whether WorldTour or not. Many are here to prepare for the Giro, with the team that will likely accompany them to Albania. We'll try to be aggressive, taking advantage of the fact that the stages are not excessively long and there's plenty of terrain to attack. I really hope my legs respond well, because if they're good here, there's a high probability they'll be good at the Giro too."

If Trentino riders feel at home in these first stages, Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) will have the same sensation on Thursday and Friday, when the race reaches his Tyrol. Despite having proven to be an excellent climber by winning a stage at the Tour de France (with a top 10 overall) and one at the Tour of Switzerland, his 6th place at the 2022 Tour of the Alps remains his best overall classification in a stage race.

"The Tour of the Alps is a race that suits my characteristics well," Gall said. "I live in Lienz and the race ends in Lienz, so when my team asked if I was interested in doing this race, I didn't hesitate to say I'd come with great pleasure. I consider it a nice objective to close this first part of the season. It's true that almost all riders preparing for the Giro are here and are coming from a period at altitude, while I have the Tour de France in my plans, but I don't see this as a disadvantage, quite the opposite. The characteristic of this race is that many riders can aspire to win and you never know when it might be decided. As far as I'm concerned, it could be decided already tomorrow (today, ed.). You have to stay alert every day."

However, the number 1 jersey will be worn by Juan Pedro López, who at last year's Tour of the Alps conquered what have so far been the only victories of his career. After winning that green jersey, things didn't go too well for the Spaniard, slowed down by physical problems and now eager to rediscover the sensations that had led him to make a great breakthrough last year.

"This is a special race for me because it was my first victory as a professional cyclist," Juanpe explained. "This year we arrive with a very strong team and we know we'll have to take our responsibilities, right from tomorrow's first stage (today, ed.). We have Ciccone who has good chances of winning the general classification. I think we'll already have important indications tomorrow (today, ed.). Last year's victory taught me that you have to enjoy the moment, because in this sport there's a continuous succession of positive and negative periods."

Don't miss tonight's episode of the BlaBlaBike podcast, where we exchanged a few words with Antonio Tiberi, another top favorite for this Tour of the Alps