Lobato, Capecchi among members for Australian race
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Eros Capecchi (Movistar)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Juan José Lobato (Movistar Team) started the stage as leader of the race(Image credit: El Pedal de Frodo/www.elpedaldefrodo.com)
Pablo Lastras (Movistar)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alejandro Valverde gets his picture with a joey(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The 2015 UCI WorldTour will kick off at the Tour Down Under without 2014 overall winner Alejandro Valverde. The Movistar Team will also be leaving behind Javier Moreno, who was runner-up in 2013, and instead will depend on sprinter Juan José Lobato and climbers Eros Capecchi, José Herrada and Gorka Izagirre for the six-stage race.
According to Biciciclismo, the team will also include Pablo Lastras as road captain and Rubén Fernández and Enrique Sanz as support riders.
The Spanish team has had mixed success in the Australian race. Valverde was second in 2012, but has not been back to the race since, and aside from Moreno's second place overall, it has stage wins by Francisco Ventoso and Valverde in its palmares.
The squad may have a better chance with its climber-heavy team on a course, which adds a bit more elevation compared with previous years, with a tough uphill sprint in Campbelltown and a new finish at Mount Baker in addition to the traditional Willunga Hill stage.
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