Three wild card slots for the Giro d'Italia (open in new tab) have been awarded to Italian pro teams Bardiani CSF Faizane, Dronehopper-Androni Giocattoli, and Eolo Cometa, completing the 22 teams registered to compete in this year's Corsa Rosa.

Race organizer RCS Sport opted to give up an automatic invitation so that Arkea Samsic could concentrate on the 2022 Tour de France and Vuelta a España, with the goal of securing a spot in the 2023 WorldTour, so a wildcard 3 slots were given.

Arkea Samsic (open in new tab) earned an automatic invitation as the #2 ranked pro team in 2021. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Alpecin Phoenix, ranked No. 1, has registered Mathieu van der Pol on its team to compete in the Giro d'Italia as he continues his recovery from a back injury.

The Giro d'Italia will feature 18 teams currently competing in the World Tour, including Giulio Ciccone (Trek Segafredo), Tom Pidcock and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers), Hugh Kersee (EF Education Easy Post), Caleb Yuan (Lot Soudal), and Mark Cavendish (Quick Step Alpha Vinyl).

The 105th Giro d'Italia will start on Friday, May 6 in Budapest, Hungary and end on Sunday, May 29 in Verona. The Friday start of the Italian Grand Tour will provide a day of rest and travel from Hungary to Italy.

The presence of Bardiani CSF Faizane, Dronehopper-Androni Giocattoli, and Eolo-Cometa will be a tailwind for Italian cycling in the absence of an Italian WorldTour team.

Bardiani CSF has become a training team for many young Italian riders, and Eolo-Cometa won a stage to Monte Zoncolan in the 2021 Giro d'Italia with Lorenzo Fortunato. Gianni Savio's newly formed Dronehopper also has many Italian riders and has been riding the Giro d'Italia almost uninterrupted for the past 25 years.

Cycling News provides live coverage of every stage of the Giro d'Italia and daily news, interviews, and analysis of the race.