Giro d'Italia & Tour de France double 'can be done' in 2015

Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali are expected to target the Giro-Tour double next year

Organisers of the Giro d'Italia say the route for the 2015 race could favour a rare Giro-Tour de France double.

No rider has won both races in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998, but Alberto Contador and reigning Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali are expected to target the feat next year.

The 2015 Giro, which runs from 9-31 May, features five mountain stages, seven 'flat' stages and a time trial.

"The Giro-Tour double can be done," race director Mauro Vegni said.

The Giro - one of three Grand Tours in the cycling calendar - covers 3,481km, starting in Riviera dei Fiori and finishing in Milan.

Contador, a two-time Tour winner and the 2008 Giro champion, said: "I like the route. It suits the riders who like to race aggressively."

However, the Spaniard, who rides for Tinkoff-Saxo, added that the inclusion of a 59km time trial on stage 14 could suit his British rival Chris Froome of Team Sky.

"A lot will depend on the weather and how it is raced," Contador said. "On paper, it looks best suited to a rider like Froome."

The three-week Tour de France will start in Utrecht on 4 July 2015.

The 2014 Giro was won by Colombia's Nairo Quintana for Movistar.