Bettini king of Italian offensive

Gli azzurri

Gli azzurri (Image credit: Sirotti)

Ever since Mario Cipollini sprinted into the rainbow jersey in Zolder in 2002, Italy has been searching for a new world champion coming out of its ranks. But in the last two editions of the event, hosted in Madrid and Verona, the squadra azzurra failed to click thanks to a lack of coherent teamwork. Can they do it in Salzburg? Hedwig Kröner reports.