Pinot (Groupama), winner of the event in 2018, has made this race a real goal, the five stages of which are announced by the organizers as "short, explosive and spectacular".

After a 2021 season spoiled by a long unavailability, the 31-year-old Frenchman proclaimed in January his ambition to want to "regain races" to be 100% at the start of the Tour de France.

His last success dates back to 2019 with a stage of the "Grande Boucle".

For Landa (Bahrain), winner in 2016, as for Lopez (Astana), third in 2018, the focus is set on a closer objective, the Tour of Italy (May 6-29).

This 45th edition of the former Tour of Trentino, which will leave Cles (Italy) on Monday and end on Friday in Lienz (Austria), is an opportunity to refine the pedal stroke on demanding percentages.

"There are climbs of 20, 25 minutes, ideal for doing very intense tests. And in addition to the beauty of the landscapes, the transfers are short and the quality of the hotels very high. A few weeks before the Giro d'Italia, we can ask for nothing more", assures the Spaniard Pello Bilbao, teammate of Landa, second overall last year behind Simone Yates, absent this year.

Also to follow are the Frenchman Romain Bardet (DSM) or the Australian Richie Porte (Ineos), another former winner (in 2015).

Chris Froome (Israel) is going to compete in his second event of the year after having gone through the Coppi/Bartali week in a fairly anonymous way in March (86th overall).

Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) on the Tour of Spain in Pola de Lena, September 2, 2021 MIGUEL RIOPA AFP / Archives

Ten World Tour teams are at the start of this Tour of the Alps which will pay tribute on Friday, before the final stage, to Michele Scarponi, five years day after day after his death in an accident in training on April 22, 2017 A fighting spirit jersey will be given in memory of the former winner of the Tour of Italy.

The five stages of the Tour of the Alps 2022:

1st stage, Monday: Cles – Primiero/San Martino di Castrozza, 160.9 km

2nd stage, Tuesday: Primiero/San Martino di Castrozza – Lana, 154.1 km

3rd stage, Wednesday: Lana – Niederdorf/Villabassa, 154.6 km

Stage 4, Thursday: Niederdorf/Villabassa – Kals am Grossglockner, 142.4 km

5th stage, Friday: Lienz – Lienz, 114.5 km

© 2022 AFP