The Giro d'Italia is the first Grand Tour of the season and over three weeks and 21 gruelling stages the world's best riders will battle it out for the right to don the coveted pink jersey (for more information on the different types of jerseys on offer, click here).

In a novel twist for 2010, the race will actually begin in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam on 8 May and remain in the Netherlands for three stages before winding its way around Italy and finishing 3,418km later in the picturesque city of Verona.

Team Sky will be looking to make their mark in their inaugural Grand Tour appearance and have sent a strong squad which looks capable of challenging for top honours.

Bradley Wiggins needs no introduction and all eyes will be on him as he steps up his preparations for the Tour de France. As well as being one of the world's best stage-race riders, time trailing remains his forte and the four on offer here will certainly be to his liking.

Dario Cioni and Morris Possoni are looking forward to riding on home turf and they could well come to the fore in the mountains along with the ever-reliable Chris Froome.

Greg Henderson and Chris Sutton are the sprint specialists within the team and both are capable of producing a killer kick when it goes hell for leather on the flatter stages.

Michael Barry, Steve Cummings and Mathew Hayman complete the nine-man squad and their all-round ability will be invaluable over the constantly changing terrain.

For a detailed description of each stage click on the blue icons displayed on the right-hand side of this page