The 2019 Giro d'Italia looks set to be a keenly contested race with a number of contenders for the title.

With reigning champion Chris Froome absent as he places his focus on the Tour de France, Team INEOS will also be without the injured Egan Bernal and instead be led by Tao Geoghegan Hart and Pavel Sivakov.

That opens it up to a wider field of hopefuls, with a few stellar names who would have fancied their chances even if the team formerly sponsored by Sky had been at full-strength.

Here, we take a look at five of the most likely names to be wearing the pink jersey when the Giro concludes in June.

Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb)

Consistency has been key for the Dutchman at this Grand Tour. He won it in 2017 and finished second last year. This is a route that favours the 28-year-old, too, with three individual time trials for him to get stuck into. 

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)

It was gut-wrenching to see Yates' stage-19 disintegration in Italy last year. Having looked so strong for so long, the Briton succumbed two stages from the end as Froome eviscerated his lead in the general standings. Yates proved his resilience by winning the Vuelta a Espana later in 2018.

Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma)

Having won the Tour de Romandie at the start of May, former ski jumper Rogic is clearly ready for the Giro. The Slovenian's weakness could be his lack of experience, with this representing only his fourth Grand Tour.

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida)

A lack of experience is not something that will be a concern for two-time champion Nibali, who was completed the hat-trick of Grand Tour triumphs. He has everything that is required to contend for the title on home soil. And, after all, 15 of the last 22 winners of this event have been Italians.

Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana)

Lopez was third last time out at the Giro and triumphed in the young rider classification. As with Roglic, a limited exposure to such high-profile and taxing events may prove a factor, but Lopez certainly has the talent.