South American-Italian connection continues as Gianni Savio keeps his “winning team” together
Based on the principle that “you don’t break up a winning team,” Gianni Savio, team manager of Italian Professional Continental team Androni Giocattoli has announced the initial twelve rider-strong list that will make up the majority of the squad in 2012. The team’s South American connection will be continued with four Venezuelans and a Colombian included, along with seven Italians.
All twelve riders named are already with Savio’s team, with no new signings announced yet. All of the Venezuelan’s in the 2011 team, Josè Rujano, Carlos Ochoa, Yonnatta Monsalve and Jackson Rodriguez, have been retained, as well as Colombian Josè Serpa. Between them the South Americans were responsible for many of the team’s top results in 2010, with Rujano taking the Grossglockner stage of the Giro d’Italia and finishing seventh overall, while Monsalve took Androni’s third successive win at the Tour de Langkawi.
The seven Italians named are Emanuele Sella, Roberto Ferrari, Omar Bertazzo, Riccardo Chiarini, Alessandro De Marchi, Giairo Ermeti and Antonio Santoro.
While Sella has yet to recapture the form of his glory days, from before his suspension for using EPO, he can still be relied upon to take big results. 2010 saw the little Vicenzan win the Settimana Coppi e Bartali, and finish strongly in a number of other races in the spring.
With twelve places taken, Androni Giocattoli will be naming another four in the coming months; taking the total roster up to sixteen, which will be two fewer than at the start of 2011.