The two upcoming races will be very important for the #OrangeBlue riders. On Monday 17th of April, the Tour of The Alps, race of category 2.HC race, valid for the Ciclismo Cup, with Damiano Cunego on the starting line, with Ivan Santaromita, Iuri Filosi and Masakazu Ito. From 18 to 23 of April also the important Tour of Croatia, race of 2.1 category, with Marco Canola, Eduard Grosu and Nicolas Marini. Both race will be Broadcasted on Television, on Raisport and Eurosport.
The NIPPO Vini Fantini team is preparing a double race calendar, starting from Monday 17th, with the Ex Giro del Trentino, that from 2017 is named Tour of The Alps and that will going on all the week, up to the 21st of April, with 5 stages for climbers. The other important race will be the Tour of Croatia, race of 2.1. category with an important starting list that will take place from the 18th to the 23h of April.
TOUR OF THE ALPS: 17-21 April.
The ex Giro del Trentino is as usual a very important moment of the Italian race calendar with many big on the starting line. The race is also important for the NIPPO Vini Fantini because it counts for the Ciclismo Cup ranking. 7 World Tour teams, 6 Professional Teams and the Italian selection, plus some Continental teams.
This is the official start-list, with 5 stages very demanding. For this reason the #OrangeBlue line-up will have Damiano Cunego, as winner of the 2007 edition, also if not yet at top of the condition because of the injury occurred. With him the expert climber Ivan Santaromita, the young talent Iuri Filosi on his home roads, the expert riders Alessandro Bisolti and Pierpaolo De Negri. The race will be an important test for Masakazu Ito, coming from the fall in Tour of Thailand, that will have the chance to compete with some of the most important international climbers. To complete the line-up the Neo-Pro Nicola Bagioli and the escape-man Giacomo Berlato.
To lead the team on the team-car the Sports Directors Valerio Tebaldi and Mario Manzoni.
Mario Manzoni pre-race comment: “The road is very demanding, for this reason I expect from Ivan Santaromita and Iuri Filosi, that is very motivated on his home roads, a good race. With them Damiano Cunego, also if at his second official race of the season, could be very important and do good things. Alessandro Bisolti as a climber is in his kind of race, as it is for Masakazu Ito coming from the fall of the Tour of Thailand, he can improve day by day. De Negri as Bagioli and Berlato could be very important supporting riders.”
The race will be Broadcasted by Raisport from 3.00 pm, but could be followed also on-line on gazzetta.it, tuttobiciweb.it and on the most important cycling website, thanks to PMG Sport, also on the official Facebook Page of the team.
The complete line-up:
Damiano Cunego, Ivan Santaromita, Iuri Filosi, Masakazu Ito, Pierpaolo De Negri, Alessandro Bisolti, Nicola Bagioli, Giacomo Berlato
DS Mario Manzoni, Valerio Tebaldi.
TOUR OF CROATIA: 18-23 April.
The race will take place in the same days of the “Giro del Trentino” and it his another important race of the calendar, with the level of participants that grows up every year. Race of 2.1 category, with 3 World Tour team on the starting line and 7 Professional teams, with 6 stages with a mixed road. Stage for climbers and for sprinters, on the second kind will race the NIPPO Vini Fantini that will have as leaders Marco Canola, Eduard Grosu and Nicolas Marini that will work together for the stage victory, well supported by Kazushighe Kuboki and Yuma Koishi and by the team riders Alan Marangoni and Riccardo Stacchiotti.
To lead the team on the team car all the Italian and Japanese experience of Stefano Giuliani and Hiroshi Daimon.
The Sports Director from Abruzzo comments with the following words the race: “The choice of the line-up depends also from the Tour of the Alps, so we will have to “choose” here our stages. The line-up is clear, we will race especially for the stages with a possibile sprint arrival. Our leader for the sprint will be probably Eduard Grosu. Marco Canola falls in Giro dell’Appennino and hits the elbow, but he have a good condition for mixed stages. We will race focusing expecially on some stages.”
The Tour of Croatia will be Broadcasted live on Eurosport, starting from next 18th of April at 3.30 pm.
The complete line-up:
Marco Canola, Eduard Grosu, Nicolas Marini, Kazushige Kuboki, Alan Marangoni, Riccardo Stacchiotti, Yuma Koishi.
DS Stefano Giuliani, Hiroshi Daimon