The story of the 2018 Giro d’Italia was Chris Froome’s incredible comeback in the closing stages of the race. It was one of the greatest sporting feats in recent memory. Any other performance of the race was doomed to pale in comparison to Chris Froome’s stage 19 victory, there were dozens of other accomplishments that deserve credit from the race.

At the end of the day, the Giro d’Italia is a showcase of the most dramatic, epic and arduous mountains that Italy has to offer. The Giro’s placement on the calendar at the end of spring adds an extra element of unpredictability to the race’s high altitude challenges.

The Giro d’Italia has always enticed the best climbers in the peloton. Every year, the course is reliably lined with dramatic and explosive mountain stages. While the Giro is a playground for the riders who appreciate steep unrelenting slopes, it is not a particularly welcoming race for sprinters.

World champion Peter Sagan cleverly clinched a bunch sprint to win the one-day classic Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, attacking early when his main rival Elia Viviani was boxed in.