Lampre riders seek better weather

Cold weather in Northern Italy has driven some of Lampre-NGC's riders further south to train. Giro di Lombardia winner Damiano Cunego relocated to San Vincenzo, near Livorno, along with teammates Marco Marzano and Mirco Lorenzetto to train without snow in preparation for the 2009 season. The three cyclists and Lampre's team director Brent Copeland were scheduled to reach their destination in Tuscany on Wednesday evening.

"I've been training for many weeks after a break, but this winter is too cold," Cunego said. "Now it's snowing, too, so it's hard to train in a proper way. I thought it would be better to move to a place where I can keep my training going in a good way."

"Damiano told us about his idea and we received it positively," said Copeland. "I'll be with Cunego, Marzano and Lorenzetto for some days to follow them training and to give assistance. Maybe some other teammates will join the group."

Lampre-NGC's first training camp will take place from January 19 to 27, probably in San Vincenzo, where the team held camps in previous years.