Giro organiser hoping for a clean and close race

Giro d'Italia organiser Angelo Zomegnan boasted this week that the race had a better field than the Tour de France and was again keeping his fingers crossed that it would not be overshadowed by doping scandals.

Zomegnan took over in 2005 as director of the three-week competition, which starts with a 23.6 km time-trial today in Palermo, and every year since it has been marred by high-profile riders failing dope tests or by police raids and investigations.

"Nobody knows if there will be any doping scandals at this year's Giro d'Italia but I'm hopeful and I think it'll be a great race," Zomegnan told Reuters.

"There will always be someone who tries to cheat in sport, just like in life but all the riders have accepted the biological passport system and have been tested several times."

Because the Giro d'Italia is no longer part of cycling's ProTour series, Zomegnan had total discretion on which 22 teams to invite to his race.

On Sunday he gave the Astana team a late call up after team manager Johan Bruyneel agreed to include 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador in Astana's Giro lineup.

Other contenders include 2007 Giro winner Danilo Di Luca of Italy, 2007 Tour of Spain winner Denis Menchov of Russia and Contador's Astana team-mate Andreas Kloden of Germany.

"We're very proud to be the only major stage race to have the winner of last year's Giro, Tour de France and Vuelta Espana," Zomegnan said.

"The Tour made the decision not to invite Astana to their race this year but we make our own decisions. We didn't initially invite them because they wouldn't tell us who their team leader would be. Fortunately they decided they wanted to be in the Giro and agreed to bring their best riders.

"We've worked hard to get the highest quality field in this year's Giro. There is also the current world and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini, 10 different national champions and a host of young riders who are determined to make a name."