Team Gerolsteiner will start in the Monte Paschi Eroica Saturday. The UCI 1.1 race runs 181 km from Gaiole in Chainti to Siena, and seven different stretches of the course go over unpaved roads. German national champion Fabian Wegmann will lead the German ProTour team.
Tinkoff Credit Systems will be relying on young talent Mihkail Ignatyev and the experience of Daniel Contrini while Alberto Loddo will return to racing after his crash in Malaysia.
"The main part of the season is coming," said Team Lampre director Fabrizio Bontempi who is looking to Alessandro Ballan and Fabio Baldato for his team's success. "Last year, the cyclists welcomed this race with enthusiasm, even if it was tougher than what was thought. The 57km of dirt roads will be crucial, this year they could be tougher because of the possible bad weather."
Gerolsteiner for Monte Paschi Eroica: Thomas Fothen, Johannes Fröhlinger, Oscar Gatto, Heinrich Haussler, Volker Ordowski, Ronny Scholz, Fabian Wegmann and Carlo Westphal.
Lampre for Monte Paschi Eroica: Alessandro Ballan, Fabio Baldato, Emanuele Bindi, Paolo Fornaciari, Roberto Longo, Christian Murro, Daniele Righi and Mauro Santambrogio under director Fabrizio Bontempi.
Tinkoff Credit Systems for Monte Paschi Eroica: Bernardo Riccio, Alexander Gottfried, Mihkail Ignatyev, Yuahen Sobal, Nikita Eskov, Ilya Chernetsky, Alberto Loddo, Pavel Brutt, Ivan Rovny and Daniel Contrini.
