(13), Switzerland (10), and France (10) all had more than 10 or more riders. Of those starting, 74 were riding the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The average age of riders was 26.52 years, ranging from 21–year–old Andreas Kappes from to 38–year–old Hennie Kuiper of . The team with the youngest average rider age was Magniflex–Centroscarpa (23), while the oldest was (28). The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place on 20 May, outside the Casino of San Remo. From the riders that began this edition, 133 completed the race. The teams entering the race were: Pre-race favorites Reigning champion Roberto Visentini returned to the race in 1987 to defend his crown, despite not winning many races in his spring campaign. Francesco Moser, who won in 1984 and finished in the top three in 1985 and 1986, did not participate because of a head trauma and bruises sustained in a crash in the weeks prior to the race. Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo and Gian Paolo Ormezzano from Italy's La Stampa named several other riders as contenders for the overall classification, such as Giuseppe Saronni, then-world champion Moreno Argentin, Stephen Roche, and Robert Millar. Since team leader Greg LeMond did not participate in the race due to injuries sustained in a hunting accident, El Mundo Deportivo believed Jean-François Bernard to be a dark horse. L'Unità writer Gino Sala believed Roche, Saronni, and Visentini were the top three challengers for the overall crown. Climbers Gianbattista Baronchelli, Éric Caritoux, Franco Chioccioli, Marino Lejarreta, and Millar were expected to contend for mountains classification. Several writers felt Argentin, Guido Bontempi, Urs Freuler, Eddy Planckaert, and Paolo Rosola all had a great chance to win a stage in the race. Mario Fossati of La Repubblica also thought that Bernard, Bontempi, and Phil Anderson could take a stage win. Anderson returned to cycling at the Giro following a lengthy battle with a virus. Due to Rolf Sørensen's victory at the Tirreno–Adriatico he was seen as an outside contender, but there were questions over his ability to climb in the high mountains. There was a strong belief that the race would be a battle between Carrera Jeans–Vagabond teammates Visentini and Roche. El Mundo Deportivo stated that Visentini had the edge in the time trial discipline and sprinting, while