Organizers for the Tour of Italy said on Friday
that Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara will join former seven-time
Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong on the start line for the centenary 2009
edition.

It promises to be one of the strongest Giro line-ups in recent history with
Italian former winners Ivan Basso — returning from a two-year doping
suspension — Damiano Cunego and Danilo Di Luca as well as Spaniard Carlos Sastre, the current Tour de France champion, amongst the riders.

Only title-holder Alberto Contador, the 2007 Tour de France winner and also
reigning Tour of Spain champion, amongst the sport’s biggest names will not be
present, preferring to concentrate solely on regaining his Tour de France
crown.

Cancellara, the Swiss Saxo Bank rider, is a renown time-trialler and
classic specialist who won the Milan-San Remo this year. Next year’s Tour of
Italy runs from May 9-31.