Cycling: Giro and Tour double "possible" in 2015

Organisers of the Giro d'Italia say the route for the 2015 race could allow a rare Giro-Tour de France double. Nobody has managed to win both races in the same year since Marco Pantani in 2008. Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana are expected to take on the double next year. The 2015 Giro, which will take place between 9-31 May, features five mountain stages, seven 'flat' stages and a time trial. "The Giro-Tour double can be done," race director Mauro Vegni said. The 205 Giro d'Italia, one of the three Grand Tours in the cycling calendar, will cover 3,481km, starting in Riviera dei Fiori and finishing in Milan. Contador, a two-time Tour winner and the 2008 Giro champion, said: "I like the route. It suits the riders who like to race aggressively." The Spaniard is worried about the 59km time trial on stage 14, which, at least in theory, would favour Team Sky's British rider Chris Froome. "A lot will depend on the weather and how it is raced," Contador said. "On paper, it looks best suited to a rider like Froome." The three-week Tour de France will start in Utrecht on 4 July 2015 and Chris Froome is 7/4 to win it at Bet365, with Alberto Contador at 5/2 and reigning champion Vincenzo Nibali at 4/1.