2017 Giro d'Italia a possibility for Froome

Having finished second overall at the Vuelta a Espana to cap off a summer that also included a third Tour de France title and second Olympic Games time trial bronze medal, Chris Froome has started to look ahead to the 2017 season with a return to the Giro d'Italia a possibility.

"I'm always open to anything. I wouldn't write (the Giro) off. But I think mostly important it's about seeing what route organisers go with and see what takes my fancy," Froome said in a statement on his Team Sky website.

The 31-year-old had suggested that his 2017 season objective would be to win the Tour and Vuelta in the aftermath of his second place in Spain. A final decision on his racing programme is likely to made when the parcours of the three grand tours are made public.

Froome rode the Giro d'Italia in his first year with Sky, recording a DSQ when trying to get to the feedzone to retire due to knee pain. Since then, Froome has won three Tours and finished runner-up at the Vuelta on three occasions. He's also finished second at the Tour and fourth at the Vuelta while he hasn't raced on Italian soil since the 2013 World Championships in Florence.

The opening stanza of the 2017 Giro d'Italia will be announced on Wednesday with Sardinia set to host the Grand Partenza for the 100th edition of the race. The full percorso will be unveiled by race organisers RCS on October 25 in Milan with Italian duo Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali likely to target the overall victory and would be potential challengers to Froome should he start. 

No British rider has won the Giro with Mark Cavendish, points, and Robert Millar, mountains, the only riders from the United Kingdom to have won classification jerseys at the race.