Giro d’Italia countdown -5: Aru ready to step up for Astana

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Young Italian talks about taking on Contador and Porte

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Fabio Aru (Astana)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Fabio Aru will begin the Giro d'Italia with just 15 days of racing in his legs but with ambition to climb further up the podium after his third place overall in 2014 and fifth place at the Vuelta a Espana.

In the absence of Vincenzo Nibali, the 24-year-old Sardinian carries the hopes of the Astana team and of Italian cycling on his young shoulders. Both the Kazakhstan team and Italian tifosi are desperate for success at the Giro d'Italia to help forget the problems of recent past and find some optimism for the long-term future.

Watch the below video to see who else we've picked as our riders to watch for the 2015 Giro d'Italia. To subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel, click here.

Stephen Farrand
Stephen Farrand
Editor-at-large

Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).