Liquigas-Bianchi has announced its roster for the second-to-last 2005 ProTour race, Paris-Tours on Sunday. The first winner of the newly established racing calendar Danilo Di Luca will captain the squad. However, the "Killer" denies that he has any personal ambitions at the event: "I have already won the Pro Tour," he said. " So I think it is right to make room for my teammates who regard the finish in Tours as suitable for them. I will save my remaining energy for Saturday 15, the Giro di Lombardia."
Marco Zanotti, who has just won the Circuit Franco-Belge, Magnus Bäckstedt and Enrico Gasparotto are therefore free to take their chances.
At first, Italian champion Gasparotto was expected to take part in the Giro dell’Emilia and G.P. Beghelli but, as General Manager Roberto Amadio explained, "Now that Di Luca has won the ProTour, we can open the team more than if we would have still been out for more points." In other words, there is a chance for a very young rider like Gasparotto who, Amadio points out, "is only 23 and has already proved to have excellent qualities. He has to increase his expertise taking part in the greater international races."
The complete list of Liquigas-Bianchi riders participating in Paris-Tours is: Danilo Di Luca, Magnus Bäckstedt, Patrick Calcagni, Enrico Gasparotto, Mauro Gerosa, Nicola Loda, Marco Milesi and Marco Zanotti.
