Fabio Aru

With the weight of Italy's expectations on his shoulders, Fabio Aru attacked in the face of a hopeless Giro GC battle to win stage 19

Fabio Aru rides alone to win in Cervinia as Contador maintains his overall lead on a mountainous 236km stage

Astana suggests the Italian could try his luck in the Spanish grand tour after he fell out of contention at the Giro this week

Alberto Contador puts more time into Astana rivals on stage 18 after Aru and Landa are distanced by crash at base of climb

Philippe Gilbert wins with an audacious long-range attack out of a large breakaway, and Contador climbs away from GC rivals

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With Fabio Aru's fading form, Astana looks to young Basque climber Mikel Landa to take the helm as Contador proves unflappable

Giro leader Alberto Contador overcomes flat tire and surprise attack from Astana, Katusha to blast up Mortirolo and extend GC advantage

Mikel Landa notches two stage wins in a row as Alberto Contador proves unflappable on steep Mortirolo climb

With Contador sitting pretty in the pink jersey, it seems Astana won't be able to present a real challenge for overall GC supremacy

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Astana rode itself inside out for Fabio Aru on Sunday, but Alberto Contador remained unruffled and extended his lead at the Giro d'Italia

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Richie Porte falters in Giro time trial but teammate Vasil Kiryienka earns stage win, while Alberto Contador retakes pink from Fabio Aru

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Alberto Contador loses overall lead, but it seems likely he'll soon return to the maglia rosa with a long, difficult time trial looming

The Tinkoff-Saxo rider aims to take back the pink jersey from Fabio Aru before entering the Giro's final, mountainous stretch

Alberto Contador loses 36 seconds and pink jersey to rival Fabio Aru in Giro stage 13 but says he feels okay despite hitting the deck

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Alberto Contador keeps squeezing his GC rivals for seconds on the Giro's tough transition stages, sitting comfortably in race lead

Philippe Gilbert unleashes brilliant sprint in the Giro's stage 12 finale, and Alberto Contador is close behind, extending GC lead

Alberto Contador is quick to put his GC rival Fabio Aru on the ropes Wednesday in a rainy Giro d'Italia stage

With the first week of the Italian grand tour in the books, three riders have emerged as the leading trio chasing the pink jersey

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Astana had a strong first week at the Giro d'Italia, but is the squad getting ahead of itself and doing too much, too soon at the race?

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With mountains on the horizon, a banged up Contador endures the Giro's longest day in the saddle to retain pink and to fight another day

Contador can't resist the urge to ride at the front and challenge his GC rivals with an attack on the Giro's first mountaintop finish

Giro favorites cross swords on first major summit finish as young Slovenian Jan Polanc escapes alone to win the day

The weight of a nation rests on Fabio Aru's shoulders as the young Italian rides, for the first time, as Astana's GC leader in the Giro

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Who will carry the pink jersey to Milan? Contador is a five-star favorite, but he faces stiff competition from a cadre of talented riders

Italians once dominated the Giro, but now, the tifosi may have to wait another year for a native son to claim the pink jersey

Alberto Contador starts the 2015 Giro as the five-star favorite, but nearly dozen riders will be nipping at his heels for the pink jersey

Aru is due to lead Astana's GC hopes at the Italian grand tour, but a virus has kept him out of races

Fabio Aru says he's hired a lawyer in the wake of Greg Henderson's Tweets that accused him of breaking anti-doping rules

Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège could cap the spring classics season in dramatic fashion, pitting young guns against experienced veterans

Froome, Nibali, and Quintana all tested their legs at the midweek Ardennes classic

Aru has pulled out of an important preparation race for the Giro d'Italia due to a stomach virus

Domenico Pozzovivo claims his first win in nearly three years with a bold attack out of a group of GC favorites at the end of stage 3

Fabio Aru has become the next big thing in Italian cycling with marvelous climbing performances at the Giro and Vuelta

The 24-year-old from Sardinia will ride to win the Giro d'Italia in May

The Sardinian is poised to make a run at winning his first grand tour next May

Whether pounding cobbles, battling in sprints, or winning mountain stages, these young riders will deliver excitement in the coming years

At worlds, Kwiatkowski, 24, leads the way for a young cohort that is talented and promising

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One final climb remained for two riders who exited the Tour de France with injury, and returned for redemption in Spain

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The contenders come out to play, and Chris Froome attacks his way into second place on GC. Aru wins, and keeps his fifth-place overall

Alberto Contador defends his red leader's jersey with panache, winning stage 16 of the Vuelta ahead of Chris Froome

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GC favorites trade blows on the final climb, but Quintana is not among them, after abandoning with a broken scapula

Aru wins as Contador controls GC rivals. Froome grits his teeth through un jour sans, but Quintana has it worst, withdrawing after a crash

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Marquee names are battling in the opening stages of the Vuelta a España, delivering on the promise of the season's most exciting grand tour

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Fabio Aru rode in support of Vincenzo Nibali last year, but now he is riding to the top of the Giro d'Italia

The Colombian takes a 3:07 advantage into stage 20 following his performance in the uphill time trial

A wild stage brings a new Giro leader, and a more tightly packed group of contenders, as the race heads toward the finish in Trieste

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Astana's Aru, a quietly consistent rider who's still learning his trade, is teaching better-known riders to keep one eye on him in this Giro

Astana's Aru attacks on the final steeps to win the stage as Uran defends pink and the GC battle tightens going into Monday's rest day

There's a wealth of new talent in the UCI WorldTour, but these five riders stand out from the rest

He's joined by a number of other speedsters, including Moreno Moser and Fabio Aru

Italian attacked with Vincenzo Nibali on the finishing climb of stage 14, where Santambrogio was victorious