CHRIS Froome will bid to achieve “something special” and claim a third straight Grand Tour title by riding in the 2018 Giro d’Italia, it was confirmed yesterday.
The 32-year-old Team Sky leader won a fourth Tour de France title in July before adding the Vuelta a Espana.
Now Froome is seeking to be the winner of all three Grand Tours at the same time when the 101st Giro d’Italia event starts from Israel in May.
He said: “It’s really exciting to be able to take on a new challenge, to do something that perhaps people wouldn’t expect and to mix it up. It’s a whole new motivation for me to see if I can pull off something special next year.”
Nobody has done the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998, and recent high-profile attempts from Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana have fallen flat.
However, the timings of the 2018 schedule mean there is a longer break than normal, partly due to avoiding a clash with the World Cup in Russia.
The 101st edition of the Giro d’Italia will run from May 4 to 27, with the Corsa Rosa set to start outside of Europe for the first time with a 9.7km time trial around west Jerusalem before two more stages in Israel ahead of moving to Sicily and a first summit finish on Mount Etna.
Froome lived in Italy for three years when he began his professional career and had posted a brief video on the Giro d’Italia Twitter feed to confirm his participation.
Froome, who has not competed in the Giro d’Italia since 2010, said he is ready to meet the “unique situation” head on.
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