Blue-fuchsia team heading to Asia for season finale and the race it has dominated in the past
Lampre-ISD is heading to Japan to try to secure Damiano Cunego his third victory in the Japan Cup race this coming Sunday. The Piccolo Principe has enjoyed some of his best results for a number of years this season, including a close second place in the Tour de Suisse, and seventh place in the Tour de France. A disappointing 27th place in last weekend’s il Lombardia, where he has been the winner three times before, would indicate that the former Giro d’Italia winner is struggling for form at the end of a long season.
"I am heading to Japan with good memories, since I’ve won two editions of the Japan Cup,” Cunego explained. “Despite being the last race of the season, I'm going to try to do well and to enjoy the many Japanese fans, who always show me great affection.
“My condition is not as good as I would like,” he admitted, “but I can rely on teammates in good condition; we will assert ourselves."
Aside from Cunego’s two victories, in 2005 and 2008, and his second place in 2004, Lampre-ISD teammate Manuele Mori won the race in 2007, when he was a Saunier Duval-Prodir rider. The blue-fuchsia team’s success at the race does not end there though, with Massimo Codol, Gilberto Simoni and Sergio Barbero (twice) taking every edition between 2000 and 2003 for Lampre.
Along with former winners Cunego and Mori, the five-man Lampre-ISD team will include Leonardo Bertagnolli, Matteo Bono and Daniele Pietropolli, all of whom accompanied Cunego to the recent Tour of Beijing.
Lampre-ISD team for the Japan Cup
Damiano Cunego, Leonardo Bertagnolli, Matteo Bono, Manuele Mori and Daniele Pietropolli