Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) stunned the cycling world with four stage wins at last year's Giro Rosa. A three-time Giro Rosa winner (2011, 2012, 2014), she will be looking for more stage wins in 2020 on a punchy course that suits her perfectly.

"I want to contend for a stage win in this race," said Jeroen Brylevens, CCC-Liv's sport director. We know what Marianne Foss is capable of. She won four stages last year." [It's a tough route visiting Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, and Puglia, but it won't be as difficult as in previous years, including major mountain passes.

The race begins with a team time trial and Strade Bianche-style stage 2, then 170.3 km to Assisi for stage 3 and Tivoli for stage 4, San Marco la Cutra for stage 8, and Motta Montecorvino for the finale, stage 9, The finish will be reached on four hills.

CCC-Liv has a GC contender in Ashley Moolman-Pasio, a South African who has just returned to competition after recovering from a fall while training for Strade Bianche.

Moolman-Pasio is a strong contender for the overall, having placed 4th last year, 2nd in 2018, and 4th in 2015.

"This is Ashley Moolman-Pasio's first race since she crashed in the preliminaries of Strade Bianche," said Brylevens.

"She is in good shape and eager to prove herself. The training data confirms that she is in good shape. Hopefully that will translate to the competition and Ashley can aim for a good classification." The second stage to Alcidosso is already very challenging and this stage will reveal to some extent what the level of the peloton is like."

CCC-Liv will field a team that includes Sofia Bertizzolo, Soraya Paladin, Sabrina Stultiens, and Pauliena Royackers.

"We have high hopes for the other players. For example, Soraya Paladin finished in the top 10 in seven stages last year. This year they might win, and one of the advantages of CCC-Liv is that as a team they have some strengths, like Pauliena, Sabrina, and Sofia.

For full reports, results, news, features, and galleries from the 2020 Giro Rosa, visit Cycling News' dedicated women's page.