Italian team put through their paces at high tech training base
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Cunego was his team's second-ranked rider in 2011(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Performance readings show what each rider needs to focus on over the winter(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
There is no place to hide for the riders as they are put through their paces(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Damiano Cunego feels the burn(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The team at the Mapei Center leave nothing to chance(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lampre-ISD are hopeful that the tests will give their riders an early preseason edge(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Cunego forces a smile for the camera(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Impressive concentration, less impressive tan lines(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Alessandro Petacchi blowing away some cobwebs(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The results of the testing means Lampre-ISD can give their riders specially tailored training plans(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Petacchi is hooked up to more tubes than a hospital patient(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Competitive rivalry is put to one side at this stage of preseason preparations(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The offseason already seems a long time ago(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Mapei Center has been used by Cadel Evans and Ivan Basso in the past(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Lampre-ISD finished 7th in the 2011 UCI WorldTour rankings(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The team at the Mapei Center use some of the most advanced equipment in the world(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
With the 2012 season now getting ever closer, Italian team Lampre-ISD have attempted to get an early advantage over their rivals by sending some of their athletes to the sports lab at the state-of-the-art Mapei Center at Castellanza in the Italian Alps.
In the past the center's facilities have been favoured by the likes of 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans and dual Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso. Lampre-ISD sent their athletes there on Thursday and Friday of last week for medical examinations and an evaluation of their general conditioning before they start serious preseason training ahead of their assault on the 2012 UCI Pro Tour.
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