Ivan Basso will lead the Cannondale team in the Giro d’Italia, which starts in the city of Naples on Saturday, May 4th, with the aim of taking a third Corsa Rosa victory. The 35-year-old from Varese has had a quiet season to date, with his standout result fourth overall in the Settimana Coppi e Bartali, and he failed to finish last week’s Tour de Romandie; the Italian team is not concerned by its captain’s form, however, and will approach the Giro d’Italia as usual.
“The Giro d’Italia is such an important race that the team is always one hundred percent motivated,” explained directeur sportif Stefano Zanatta. “I think will be a tough race until the last day and Cannondale Pro Cycling will be able to play an important role.
“[Vincenzo] Nibali [who rode for the team until this year – ed] and [Bradley] Wiggins, as well as their teams Astana and Sky, will have the pressure of being favourites,” he added. “From our side, we need patience and to be ready to exploit all the situations. We know the Giro will be a hard challenge, but we don’t want to assume any results.”
Basso’s results have been similar to those of last year, when he went on to finish fifth in the Giro, and not appreciably worse than in 2010 when he went on to win. For this reason Zanatta is calm about his team leader’s prospects over the three-week race.
“Basso’s results and preparation were as expected,” Zanatta said. “He focused only on the Giro and we wanted him ready for this race. After two difficult years, this time Ivan followed his program without problems or injuries. He did all he had to do. Now the roads will return the verdict, but not many riders are as tough and determined as Ivan.
In addition to Basso’s overall ambitions, Cannondale will be supporting 24-year-old Elia Viviani in the sprints as he makes his first appearance in the race.
“For Viviani, the 2013 Giro will be his debut and for Cannondale Pro Cycling it’s important that he plays his chances and earns experience,” Zanatta explained. “We’re confident in him but he’s not forced to win. Elia is a young guy with a great talent: he will be free to race without pressure.”
Cannondale Pro Cycling team for the Giro d’Italia
Tiziano Dall’Antonia, Ivan Basso, Paolo Longo Borghini, Alan Marangoni, Fabio Sabatini, Cristiano Salerno and Josè Sarmiento, Elia Viviani and Cameron Wurf