The 105th edition of the Giro d'Italia is coming to SBS - with the Italian three-week Grand Tour LIVE and FREE on SBS, with every minute of racing action LIVE on SBS On Demand.
Aussie sprint star Caleb Ewan hopes to wear the famous race leader's pink jersey for the first time with victory on the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia.
On the eve of the race start in Budapest, the sprint king revealed he is gunning for stage wins at not only the Giro but also the Tour de France and Vuelta Espana this season.
Ewan had set out to achieve the same rare Grand Tour treble last year after winning two stages at the Giro but ended up missing out after breaking his collar bone in a crash on the third stage of the Tour.
The 27-year-old has not given up hope of the unique honour and admitted he would go all-in for the single-year hattrick if he is able to claim early stage wins in Italy and France.
The Lotto-Soudal sprint ace is very hopeful about his Giro prospects, saying: "I don't know if I'm in the best shape of my career but I definitely feel really good."
He even has the rare chance to take the race leader's pink jersey - the coveted Maglia Rosa - in Friday's 195km opening stage from Budapest to Visegrad, with Hungary honoured to be hosting the Grande Partenza outside Italy.
"It's pretty difficult but easier than I thought it would be," said the improving climber Ewan, after having reccied the final uphill stretch.
"It's still five kilometres uphill so quite difficult but I've nothing to lose. I wouldn't say it's a golden opportunity - in general, it's probably too hard for me - but it's not impossible.
"I'm going to try to win. Either I'm going to have the legs to do it, or not - it's pretty simple."
Ewan comes into Stage 1 of the Giro with five race wins already this season and is in solid form ahead of the first Grand Tour race of the year.
However, there will be plenty of star talent looking to get the better of the Australian with British great Mark Cavendish, France's Arnaud Demare and Colombian Fernando Gaviria all lining up for sprint honours.
"I consider myself one of the fastest men in the peloton but you still have to beat the guys who are here," said Ewan, who's won nine grand tour stages.
"If I'm the best sprinter here and I only win one stage, then I'll probably be disappointed.
"I wasn't aiming to (win at all three grand tours this year) but maybe if I can win a stage at the Giro and the Tour, I can start thinking about maybe going to the Vuelta.
"It's not really in my mind at the moment. The world championship is something I'm aiming for so it will be a bit more about what's the best preparation for that.
"If we think the Vuelta's going to be good preparation for the worlds, maybe we'll go for it."
One thing's for sure. Ewan says he definitely won't be completing the Giro, and may well pull out before the final week to save himself for the Tour.
"The two Tours de France I finished, I wasn't great for the rest of the season afterwards so I think it would be a mistake to finish the Giro and then go on to Tour," he said.
