Despite being a Spanish team, the Saunier Duval-Prodir squad is on home soil in the Giro - for two of its riders at least.
In yesterday's stage, Marco Pinotti, who is from Ossio Sotto, near Bergamo was allowed to slip off the front of the peloton when the race approached his home area, to greet his friends and fans and to pause to hug his young wife.
In today's stage, team leader Gilberto Simoni will have his friends and family at the roadside as he rides his home roads on the stage from Rovato to Trento - Monte Bondone. It remains to be seen whether the peloton will let Gibo nip off the front to spend a few moments saying hello. At 44 minutes down, Pinotti was in no place to take advantage, but fifth-placed Simoni is eight minutes behind race leader Ivan Basso on general classification and will be closely marked.
With the race entering its final mountains phase, this would be the logical place for Simnoni to make a move and the team says it's ready. "The team is in good shape: the men are relaxed and highly-motivated, ready to back their leader, Gibo," said team spokesperson Virginie Geinoz.
