Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome knows he is taking a risk but admitted he would regret it were he not to try and become only the third man to win three Grand Tours in a row.
Only cycling greats Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault have held all three Grand Tour titles at the same time, with the Belgian doing it from 1972-73 and the Frenchman repeating the trick a decade later.
Froome followed up his fourth Tour de France victory last July with a maiden Vuelta a Espana title in September, making him the first man to do the yellow and red jersey double since the Spanish raced moved to its current spot in the calendar, in 1995.
He will now take on the Giro d’Italia for just the third time in his career, and for the first time with a realistic shot at winning the coveted Maglia Rosa – the leader’s pink jersey.
And while he knows the possible impact trying to win the Giro could have on his attempt to win a fifth Tour title in July, he is willing to give it a go.
“Of course there is an element of risk involved in targeting the Giro before the Tour, but I think I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t give this race a go,” said the two-time Olympic bronze medallist.
“I have always enjoyed racing in Italy and it has been great riding Tour of the Alps and Tirreno-Adriatico this year.
“The Giro is special and full of history, and I am looking forward to racing it again after almost a decade.
“I’ve had a different start to the season as I’ve obviously been aiming to try and reach my peak quite a bit earlier than usual.
“But the target of going for a third consecutive Grand Tour has given me new motivation.”
Were he to triumph in Italy before going on to do the same in France, he would be the first man to do the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani 20 years ago.
And he will be supported in his first part of the journey by an eight-strong team, with the race marking the first Grand Tour since teams were cut from nine riders at the start of this season.
Froome is the only Brit on the team with David de la Cruz, Kenny Ellissonde, Sergio Henao and Wout Poels set to be his support riders on the brutally steep mountain roads of Italy.
While Christian Knees, Vasil Kiryienka and Salvatore Puccio will play their part on the flat and rolling roads.
The race begins in Israel on May 4, before moving back to Italy for stage four, and sees riders tackle the 3,546.2km route that goes over iconic climbs such as Mount Etna and the Zoncolan.
Sportsbeat 2018