Former Giro winner Dumoulin anticipating a reborn Groenewegen in the battle for pink on stage 1

Just one more sleep until the Giro d'Italia begins. The race kicks off this year in Bulgaria with a flat opening stage. The sprinters smell their chance, and that means the debutants of Unibet Rose Rockets have a major target on day one. Dylan Groenewegen is in blistering form, and could single-handedly make the whole year a success for the team in a single afternoon.

The first stage starts in Nessebar, a small town on the Bulgarian coast, and finishes in Burgas after a day racing past the country's beaches. Groenewegen is gunning for the stage win — and with it, the first pink jersey of the race. His transfer to Unibet Rose Rockets was a headline-grabbing move, but with four wins in the spring, the Amsterdam-born sprinter could not be better placed heading into La Grande Partenza.

Former Giro winner Tom Dumoulin sees it too, speaking on the Dutch NOS Wielerpodcast. "I genuinely think Dylan has a very good chance," says the former teammate of Groenewegen. "He's having an excellent season, has already won several races, had a flawless build-up to the Giro, and alongside Jonathan Milan he is the top sprinter in this race. I'd give Milan a chance to win a stage or two as well, but absolutely Groenewegen too. That's definitely realistic."

The 2017 Giro winner believes the move to Bas Tietema's team was exactly the right step for the sprinter. "I think it was fine at Jayco AlUla too, but I think he's found himself in a more familiar environment again, with lots of Dutch speakers around him. And the first few months have proved him right — it's been a pretty remarkable transfer to the Rockets."

"He seems to be really comfortable in his own skin, and I saw a very open and talkative Dylan on our podcast," Dumoulin continues. "Whereas I've also known him as a quieter, more withdrawn kind of guy — or at least very focused on himself. But working with sprint coach Marcel Kittel, he seems to have both the sprint train and himself very well sorted."

Wearing the pink jersey after day one would mean everything to Groenewegen and the Rockets. "That would be something truly special. The funny thing is: you pull on that jersey in a Grand Tour, and you are genuinely, even if just briefly, the leader of a Grand Tour. That's also how the rest of the peloton looks at you. The leading team, the leading rider — it's a magical feeling. Everyone wants a piece of you, and that's what makes wearing that jersey so demanding. But if he can pull it off, it would be fantastic for him and for that team."

There are plenty of challengers who fancy their own chances, though. Alongside Milan, Dumoulin names Paul Magnier as a threat. "Magnier isn't an out-and-out sprinter — he's better suited to trickier finishes that don't quite suit Milan and Groenewegen." Another dangerous prospect: Tobias Lund Andresen. "He can do a bit of both: sprint fairly well on flat finishes — though I'd still rate Groenewegen higher there — but he's definitely a rider to watch on the more demanding finishes."