17/08/2012

Liquigas-Cannondale selects Vuelta a España squad. Capecchi targets the GC, Viviani for sprint finishes

A motivated and balanced line-up for the green and blue team



Liquigas-Cannondale heads into the Vuelta a España with a very clear game plan. It has a line-up of young, fit riders who are experienced on the climbs and on the flat and who are above all determined to capitalise on every opportunity to make their mark and continue the team’s positive track record in the grand Spanish stage race.



Climber Eros Capecchi and sprinter Elia Viviani will head up the team as it kicks off this year’s Vuelta with the team time trial opener on Saturday, 18th August (16.5 km in Pamplona). Following his experience at the Giro d’Italia, Capecchi (who won the 2012 GP Lugano) is now ready to compete for top ranking in the general classification on a real tough parcours against world-class riders like Contador and Froome. This may be Viviani’s debut in a Grand Tour but he is definitely fired up and keen to return to sprinting after representing Italy on the track at the Olympic Games. He has secured six wins this season and knows he has what it takes to compete with the best.



In addition to Capecchi and Viviani, DS Dario Mariuzzo and Biagio Conte can count on two pure climbers in the form of the Colombian Josè Sarmiento and the Ligurian Cristiano Salerno, three reliable rouleurs Maciej Bodnar (who answered a late call up to replace the injured Marangoni), Mauro Da Dalto and Tiziano Dall’Antonia, and two excellent all-rounders Maciej Paterski and Daniele Ratto, who is also set to make his Grand Tour debut.



«It’s going to be a tough and demanding Vuelta in terms of the parcours and also because the main contenders will be determined to win, » explained Mariuzzo, who was the team’s DS when it achieved positive results in Spain in 2010 and 2011. «We’ve got team of experienced, quality riders who know what to expect. Our mission will be to exploit every chance the Vuelta presents so we can make it an exciting race and chase down the wins. We intend to race with courage and character. Capecchi is experienced enough to be one of the main contenders in the mountains, while Viviani has the quality and drive to succeed in the sprints. We’ll ensure they have the best possible support but the team can also offer more than that. We have riders like Ratto and Paterski who can play the role of outsider, and of course we also have the rest of the squad. We’ve got the quality to do well and the hunger for victory so we can make a real difference in this race. »