ISD embraces cycling centre approach

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New Italian-Ukrainian Team ISD will use a cycling centre approach to bring together its riders and staff. The team, led by Luca Scinto and Angelo Citracca, will base itself in San Baronto, Italy.

"The riders will live together at our centre ... and I will follow them personally even when they are not racing. It will be kind of a family atmosphere and I will act as a dad. Not leaving them alone also serves to avoid riders scouting around for 'trainers,'" said Tuscan Scinto, a former professional, to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The team has rising star Giovanni Visconti, 2007 Italian Champion, in its ranks. The 25 year-old is from Sicilia but already lives in the area of San Baronto, south of Pistoia. He is joined by compatriots Dario Cioni, Leonardo Scarselli, Alessandro Proni and Davide Ricci Bitti, Ukraine's Andriy Grivko, Dmitry Grabovskiy, Volodymyr Diudia, Denys Kostyuk, Dmytro Krivtsov, Oleksandr Kvachuk and Sergiy Matveyev, Poland's Bartosz Huzarski, Belgium's Igor Abakoumov and Russia's Maxim Belkov.

"Visconti? He needs the encouragement and consideration that he did not have where he was before [Quick Step - ed.]. ... We started the team because we were enamoured with Visconti. We are starting with our feet on the ground, but we hope to be one of the strongest ten teams in two to three years."

The team brought on board former World Champion Mario Cipollini to help guide the team and its technical decisions. He sees eye to eye with fellow Tuscan Scinto on the cycling centre approach.

"It is similar to my idea, that is, to have an area where the riders live and they prepare under everyone's eyes, from the trainers to the doctors, from the masseuses to the psychologist..."

The Professional Continental team will aim for an invitation to the Giro d'Italia, May 9 to 31. Visconti wore the leader's maglia rosa for eight days this year, which should help RCS Sport, race organiser, lean toward Team ISD.

Industrial Union of Donbass is a steel company based in Ukraine. It supports Sport Club ISD, which has more than ten sport disciplines under its watch.