For Giovanni Visconti (Farnese-Vini), tomorrow’s Giro di Lombardia marks his last race with the Farnese-Vini team prior to a move to Movistar for 2012. The team will put its full backing behind him tomorrow in the Race of the Falling Leaves in an attempt to send Visconti out in style.
New portions of the Lombardia route would seem to suit the Italian veteran, who comes off of a third place finish at the GP Beghelli. Team management believes that a Visconti in top form should play a major role in the race.
“For this reason, we have left nothing to chance,” explained team director Luca Scinto. The Fall Classic, won the previous two years by Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), is expected to suit the hilly specialists. However a more undulating route this season has even some of those riders questioning their chances.
Less than ten kilometers from the finish is the short but sharp climb of Villa Vergano. At just over three kilometers in length and averaging an eight percent gradient, the Vergano climb crests nine kilometers from the line before the route dives down toward the finish in Lecco.
After finishing its highest profile race, the Giro d’Italia, in May, Farnese-Vini turned a focus to Lombardia way back in July. Scinto hopes that the extra reconnaissance comes into play on Saturday.
“In July, we made this a target,” he said. “Reconnaissance on the climb of Vergano has served to clarify our idea of how the finale will play out.”
In his third and final year with the team, Visconti has shown the Farnese-Vini colours on the top of a podium multiple times throughout the season. After riding well and finishing eleventh overall in Tirreno-Adriatico, Visconti won stage five of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali in late March. With five wins on the season, the biggest being the Italian Road Race National Championships, Visconti seems to have found form at the end of the season. The 28-year-old has a host of top five finishes in the last month.
With four large climbs of note in tomorrow’s race and with the last coming in the final kilometers, Scinto believes Visconti will be a major protagonist in the finale. “The [Vergano] climb is hard, but it is right for Visconti,” he added.
“For us it is the last race, but we’re focused like it is the first. Tomorrow will be a battle, and Visconti has trained to be there.”
Farnese-Vini for the Giro di Lombardia:
Giovanni Visconti, Oscar Gatto, Luca Mazzanti, Pier Paolo De Negri, Diego Caccia, Davide Ricci, Elia Favilli, Leonardo Giordani