Giro organisers announce

"I hope the 2008 Giro d'Italia will be a symbol of credibility, cleanliness and internationalism. Cycling is going through a difficult moment and needs to make epical changes," race director Angelo Zomegnan said on Saturday during the presentation of the 2008 Giro d'Italia route.

"We need to look the riders and team managers in the eyes and make the necessary changes. We've asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that the riders selected for 2008 Giro will have the new 'biological passport'."

WADA and the International Cycling Union (UCI) plan to collect blood samples from all professional riders in 2008 to create a medical profile that would then be compared to the data registered in doping tests.

Like the Tour de France and Vuelta Espana, the Giro d'Italia is no longer part of cycling's ProTour series following a power struggle with the UCI, cycling's governing body, and so will personally choose the 20 teams that will take part in the race.

"Next week we'll start to meet the teams and we'll select them based on their honesty and cleanliness," Zomegnan said.

"We want riders who are honest and who will avoid any short cuts."

The 2008 Giro d'Italia starts in Palermo on May 10 and ends in Milan on June 1.

The three weeks of racing begins with a 28.5 km team time trial in Palermo before heading north via Rome, Tuscany and Verona.

The final week is packed with mountain stages, with an individual time trial to the summit of the Plan de Corones ski station and the steep Mortirolo climb on the last day in the mountains.

The Giro ends with a 23.5 km individual time trial to Milan.

Italy's Danilo Di Luca won the 2007 Giro d'Italia and is a favourite for 2008 along with fellow Italians Damiano Cunego, Gilberto Simoni and Riccardo Ricco.

Di Luca was banned for three months in October because of his links to a doctor accused of supplying doping products.

The 2006 winner, Ivan Basso, received a two-year ban earlier this year for admitting to attempted doping and his involvement in Spain's Operation Puerto doping scandal.