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29 January 2006

28 January News ...

Liquigas Presentation Emits Italian Warmth

The recent monstrous snow storm in Milano did not stop Liquigas from throwing a classy presentation. The day before the 28 riders were to be presented all of Northern Italy was hammered with 50cm of snow, however the warm reception of Liquigas seemed to melt it all away and signal the start of the racing season.

The classy presentation (28 January) would have made last year's Liquigas star, Mario Cipollini, proud. The boys wore Italian suits with Liquigas-green ties for the event held at one of the swankiest jazz bars in Milano.

A Complete Squadra

Liquigas is one of the three Italian teams in the ProTour and one of the most complete. The squadra has Di Luca for the Giro and Ardennes, Garzelli for the Tour, Paolini and Pellizotti for the one-day races and Backstedt for the pavé. There are also the young stars, like Gasparotto, Nibali, Colli, Capecchi and Kreuziger that will learn from the experienced riders, like Noè, Zanini, Cioni, Andriotto. "The ProTour made us realize that we have to have more of a complete presence for the whole season, and not only one cyclist for all races," said Roberto Amadio, Team Manager.

The Paolini and Zanini Additions

The major coup for Liquigas over the winter was the signing of Luca Paolini (29). The Italian has left his buddy, Paolo Bettini, at the Quick-Step squadra to take on more responsibility with Amadio's squadra. He seemed to fit right in with the green team and has no problem handling the multitude of questions from the gathered press. Tanned from his recent voyage to the Tour of Down Under he is now ready for his European campaign.

You can easily tell that Stefano Zanini (37), who also transferred from Quick-Step, is "the dude". His palmarès are not stacked with wins, but they are impressive nonetheless, including one day in the Maglia Rosa and a stage win at the Tour. Expect to see this relaxed father-figure guiding his old Quick-Step mate, Paolini, to wins.

Pellizotti, Gasparotto and Sig Pavé

We ran into the Italian while he was at the bar getting drinks for his entire table. - The 'Gentile' Pellizotti.

At first glance Franco Pellizotti (28) seems to be the wild Liquigas rider, but on the contrary he is 'gentile'. We ran into the Italian while he was at the bar getting drinks for his entire table. He was kind enough to put down the platter of drinks and talk with BiciRace.com. "I am heading to Mallorca with the others for a week of training, then I will take part in the Vuelta a Mallorca [5 - 9 February]," said Pellizotti. "From there I will return to race Milano-Torino with Di Luca."

Perhaps one rider who is really waiting for the season to get under way is Enrico Gasparotto. The young (23) Italian Champion is itching to show off his national jersey after dealing with mononucleosis. "The mononucleosis is completely gone, 'finito'", said Gasparotto with some hand gestures. Expect to see the Italian champion swinging hard punches come late spring, "I will race Giro di Lucca and go from there."

"I want to give the derny paced hour record another go ... After the Tour we schedule another attempt at beating the record." - The Cobble Cruncher, Backstedt.

Signor 2004 Paris-Roubaix, Magnus Backstedt, is the guy who is in control. He is very professional with his use of a personal manager to schedule his time, which allows him to fit in interviews and time testing Bianchi frames. "The wind tunnel test with Bianchi went well," said the giant Swede. "We further detailed my TT machine [nodding over to his bike on display]. ... The Paris-Roubaix bike will be new this year, but an exact copy of the titanium frame I used in the 2004 and last year. But the bike I am using right now is all-aluminum, including the seat stays. If it gives me problems I will switch to the titanium frame for the other races."

The cobble cruncher (30) confirmed to use a list of races that will mostly be north of the Alps, these will carry him through the Paris-Roubaix and then the Tour. There is also his newly found love for the velodrome, "I want to give the derny paced hour record another go ... After the Tour we schedule another attempt at beating the record."

 

The Grand Tour Guns

Stefano Garzelli (32) reflects the elegance of a former Giro champion. Spend only ten minutes watching his teammates interact with the Varesino and you see years of respect. And why not? He won la Corsa Rosa in 2000 but this year he will give up his ambitions, leaving the Italian race leadership to Di Luca to instead focus on la Grand Boucle. It is wrong to expect him to win the final Maillot Jaune but with detailed training he could easily snatch a stage.

Garzelli's old Mapei mate, Charly Wegelius, is once again the go-to mountain domestique. Il Varesino*, even without Garzelli, will be at the Giro to help Danilo Di Luca. "For the Tour it will be tough, but after the Giro I will see if I have enough to go on and help Stefano," said Wegelius. The 27 year-old is a good guy, even throwing side jabs at BiciRace.com when we were taking notes with another rider.
(*Ok, he is a Brit, but the guy has lived and trained with the likes of Stefano Zanini long enough to be considered Italian.)

Finally, last year's Liquigas darling, Danilo Di Luca, was busy chatting with his travel mates. The following day, assuming the snow had completely cleared, he is on his way to Mexico for some training. The 2005 ProTour winner (30) is traveling to Toluca for four weeks to seek out warmth and altitude while putting in the kilometers. "Then I will return and I will make my start in the Milano-Torino," said Di Luca. The team's major goal, four months away and after the snow has melted, will be to deliver The Killer to overall Giro victory."

The Liquigas Squadra:
Alberto Curtolo, Alessandro Spezialetti, Andrea Noè, Charles Wegelius, Daniele Colli, Danilo Di Luca, Dario Andriotto, Dario Cioni, Enrico Gasparotto, Eros Capecchi, Francesco Failli, Franco Pellizotti, Kjell Carlström, Luca Paolini, Magnus Backstedt, Manuel Quinziato, Marco Milesi, Marco Righetto, Matej Mugerli, Mauro Da Dalto, Michael Albasini, Nicola Loda, Patrick Calcagni, Roman Kreuziger, Stefano Garzelli, Stefano Zanini, Vincenzo Nibali, Vladimir Miholjevic

Read:
Gasparotto Interview, Il Campione Italiano, 10 January
Fine Tuning of the TT Machine for Di Luca, 2 December
Liquigas Gathers in Terme, 25 November
Liquigas Winter Training, 17 November
Mexico and Training for Danilo Di Luca, 3 November
2006 Liquigas-Bianchi Squadra, 21 October
Danilo Di Luca Interview, 5 July
Stefano Garzelli Interview, 13 May
Charly Wegelius Interview, 11 April

28 January News ...