Trek-Segafredo have been forced to pivot their Giro d'Italia objectives just days before the start of the race following Giulio Ciccone's COVID-19 positive.
The Italian, who was excited about the Grande Partenza in his home region of Abruzzo, was expected to fight for mountain stage victories and be a GC challenger at the Corsa Rosa this month.
In his absence Trek-Segafredo will hunt for stage wins on all terrains. The US-registered WorldTour team will look to former world champion Mads Pedersen and 2019 fifth-place finisher Bauke Mollema for success.
Latest Videos From
Young Eritrean climber Natnael Tesfatsion makes his Grand Tour debut for the team, while countryman Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier also rides along with Daan Hoole, Toms Skujins, Otto Vergaerde, and Alex Kirsch.
Trek-Segafredo announced their Giro d'Italia line-up on social media, using an Italian movie theme for each rider. Pedersen was James Bond in Venice, while Mollema was shown as Jep Gambardella in the The Great Beauty movie.
Last year Juan Pedro López defended the maglia rosa for ten days after finishing second on stage 3 to Mount Etna. He went on to finish tenth overall and won the best young rider's white jersey.
He is also absent this year and so Trek-Segafredo have other plans for the Corsa Rosa.
"At the start of a Grand Tour there's always a perspective, an idea, a goal and a best scenario to try to achieve," team directeur sportif Gregory Rast said ahead of Saturday's opening time trial stage.
"But it is impossible to predict, as of now, what will happen in the 21 days of racing. Cycling is such an unpredictable sport. We must therefore look at the Giro as 21 different goals to aim for, where the team, all together, must focus on a daily basis.
"We must also have the strength and the ability perhaps to adapt our tactics during the race, keeping in mind what we came to the Giro to do: win stages.
"Of course, not having Ciccone is a real pity for us. Our chances of victory in the toughest stages, in the Alps and Dolomites, have been reduced a lot.
"Because of his strength on the climbs and the condition he showed, it was impossible to replace him 100%. But that's it and we're now focused on how we carve out our own space on the days when he would have been our leader."
Ciccone can count three mountain stage wins on his Giro palmarès – at Sestola in 2015 with Bardiani, and then at Ponte di Legno in 2019 and at Cogne last year with Trek. He also won the most recent of Trek's four Giro jerseys, taking the maglia azzurra of the mountain classification four years ago.
Pedersen, who along with Mollema, is hoping to complete a 'grand slam' of Grand Tour stage wins at the race, could be in contention for the ciclamino points jersey, which Giacomo Nizzolo won for the team in 2015 and 2016.
"Mads will be our point of reference, the rider who, due to talent and potential, deserves to be considered our captain at the Giro," Rast said.
"We saw him at the Classics, we saw him at the Grand Tours last year. Mads is one of the most competitive riders in the world and he can fight on many different stages.
"His priority to win a stage is also ours. We will focus our efforts on battling with strong competitors that, of course, are aware of what Mads can do. In terms of the points jersey, I think that is something we can talk about on the way."
Vergaerde, Kirsch, and Hoole are along for the ride in a support role, while Skujins, Ghebreigzabhier, and Tesfatsion will have freedom to go for the breakaways.
For Mollema, a consistent performer with two Giro top 10s on his record, a stage win to complete his set is also the goal, while another solid GC result isn't out of the question.
"He is chasing a dream that, for his palmarès, would be like the icing on the cake," said Rast. "We want to help him realize that. Bauke is a solid rider, experienced and smart enough to spot the best opportunities during the Giro.
"He is a die-hard rider and when the race becomes tough, when fatigue sets in, like in the second and third week, he will be able to emerge. He'll have his chances and we'll go along with him."
