CSC for the Giro

By Katharina Schulz

Last year, Danish Team CSC went out to win the Giro d'Italia with their captain Ivan Basso, and they did. However, Basso had to leave the team later that year when he came under serious doping allegations in the wake of Operación Puerto.

This year, CSC are going for a different kind of glory than the overall win: stage wins and a few days in pink. With a team comprising several young talents, backed up by a handful of experienced riders, the team has strong chances for stage wins. With World Champion Fabian Cancellara and US champion David Zabriskie for the time trials, and new acquisition Juan José Haedo already showing the ability to hand his team sprint victories, CSC could be able to have nearly as much success as last year.

The line-up: David Zabriskie, Fabian Cancellara, Alexandr Kolobnev, Andy Schleck, Juan José Haedo, Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Michael Blauzun, Matti Breschel and Volodymir Gustov.

"I think we have a good chance to show what we can do over those three weeks. Not only as far as stage wins are regarded, but we might also even go for the pink jersey in the beginning of the race, " said director Bjarne Riis. "Haedo has already shown that he is able to compete with the best in a sprint, and I also think that we have possibilities when it comes to some of the hillier stages, and also of course in the individual time-trials."