Management

LIQUIGAS-DOIMO (LIQ) - ITA

The bright green Liquigas-Doimo jersey stands out in the UCI ProTour peloton and the Italian team intends to dominate both the major stage races and the classics in 2010.

The Liquigas-Doimo line-up includes Italians Ivan Basso, Franco Pellizotti, Vincenzo Nibali and Roman Kreuziger of the Czech Republic. All four are major stage race contenders, meaning Liquigas will be a real threat in the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

General Manager Roberto Amadio has worked hard to make sure each of the team leaders has specific individual goals. Basso and Pellizotti will target the Giro d’Italia, Nibali will focus on the Tour de France after his impressive seventh place in 2009, while Kreuziger will ride the Tour de France and the Vuelta. Thanks to their proven ability to win other UCI ProTour stage races, all four could also top the UCI World Ranking in 2010.

Of course Liquigas-Doimo also has a strong roster for the one-day classics and sprint finishes. Daniele Bennati is hoping to finally overcome a series of injuries and return to his best form, while the powerful Jacopo Guarnieri is likely to emerge in the sprints in 2010 after his first success last season. Francesco Chicchi and Fabio Sabatini are also fast finishers. Manuel Quinziato, Fabio Sabatini, Ivan Santaromita, Valerio Agnoli, Brian Vandborg and Frederik Willems are good classics riders who can win themselves or offer Bennati vital team support.

New professionals include the powerful Kristjan Koren from Slovenia, Maciej Paterski from Poland and Italians Davide Cimolai and Elia Viviani.

“The best teams in the world have multiple leaders and that’s proved vital in recent years at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. We’ll be targeting both of them, as well as the classics and sprints,” Amadio said.