 The 2008 Giro featured an assortment of contenders for the overall victory . Defending champion Danilo Di Luca had faced potential bans which would have kept him out of the race , after investigations into his involvement with the Oil for Drugs scandal and an irregular doping test given after stage 17 of the 2007 Giro d 'Italia , either of which could have resulted in a two @-@ year suspension . Though he was suspended for three months because of Oil for Drugs , he was cleared by the Italian National Olympic Committee of any wrongdoing in the 2007 Giro , and was thus permitted to start . 
