Elia Viviani and Eros Capecchi to support two-time Giro winner in the Race to the Sun
After something of a stuttering start to his 2012 season, which has seen him abandon both the Trofeo Laigueglia and the GP Lugano, Ivan Basso starts Paris-Nice on Sunday hoping to get his year going. There were concerns after the two-time Giro d’Italia winner pulled out of the Lugano race last Sunday, but the light ‘flu that he was suffering from seems to have passed.
Alongside Basso will be the winner in Lugano, Eros Capecchi, with the team’s sprint options covered by Elia Viviani, who was all but invincible in the opening races of the Italian season; taking victory in the GP Costa degli Etruschi, as well as both stages and the overall in the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria. He returns to the road after competing in the omnium at the recent track World Cup, on the 2012 Olympic track in London.
“I’m really looking forward to competing in my first big race of the season but at the same time I know that my condition won’t allow me to pull off any major exploits,” said Basso. “The parcours and opponents in the Paris-Nice make it a demanding race so you can’t just concoct something off the cuff.
“I had a bit of flu in Lugano which I’ve got over but it was definitely an unexpected hitch,” he explained. “If I can’t complete for the general classification, I’ll focus more on how I feel: I want to see a marked improvement in my condition by the end of the trip. I also want to be of help to the team: we’ve got riders, like Capecchi, who are doing really well and they deserve our confidence and trust.”
Capecchi was originally supposed to ride Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts on the Etruscan coast on Wednesday, February 7th, but after his Lugano victory the decision was taken to switch him to the Paris-Nice team.
“Paris-Nice will be an excellent opportunity to gauge our form, especially as the parcours is so tough,” explained directeur sportif Mario Scirea, who will guide the team in the race. “At the last moment we decided to include Capecchi because a man with his qualities and condition can provide an invaluable contribution; he and Basso will form an enviable duo on the climbs.
“Viviani warrants great confidence,” he added. “He’ll be up against fierce competition and we’re more interested in how he performs than his results.”
Liquigas-Cannondale for Paris-Nice
Ivan Basso, Eros Capecchi, Tiziano Dall’Antonia, Ted King, Paolo Longo Borghini, Dominik Nerz, Sylwester Szmyd and Elia Viviani