Encouraged by a good showing in last weekend’s Strade Bianche, the Colombia Coldeportes squad will this week take the start in Tirreno Adriatico determined to perform and thus justify its wildcard for the race.
Jarlinson Pantano was one of the most impressive riders in the Strade Bianche race. He was twelfth, but the real significance was that he had been away in the day’s early break, was caught 55 kilometres from the end, yet was still able to battle on and finish in the first dozen. That performance has given him a boost in advance of tomorrow’s start.
“We are now more confident ahead of a very important fixture, and we are willing to show what we are worth,” he said. “We are so happy to be part of this team, having a chance to take part to the most important races in the world of cycling: we got the right mood and motivation, we won’t back down!”
He is one of eight riders from the team who have been selected for the WorldTour event. The others are the former Tour de France Maillot Jaune Victor Hugo Peña, current Tour de l’Avenir champion Esteban Chaves, former world under 23 champ Fabio Duarte, Darwin Atapuma, Robinson Chalapud, Felipe Laverde, Wilson Marentes and Jarlinson Pantano.
General manager Claudio Corti said that he expected the race to be a very tough one, but that his riders are determined to perform and to earn their invitation.
“We are climbers, so we’ll be obviously focusing on the most demanding stages, such as Chieti’s and Prati di Tivo’s uphill finish,” he said. “I expect my riders to be upfront and head-to-head with the strongest riders in the pack. Nevertheless, we’ll be aggressive and trying to be protagonists every other day, just like we did at Saturday’s ‘Strade Bianche’. We got grit and determination to do that.”
Meanwhile another Pro Continental team is determined to also make an impression. The Acqua & Sapone squad will be lead by former Giro winners Stefano Garzelli and Danilo Di Luca, who will be backed by Carlos Betancur, Massimo Codol, Francesco Ginanni, Vladimir Miholjevic, Danilo Napolitano and Fabio Taborre.
It has a point to prove as it was overlooked for selection for the Giro d’Italia. Like Tirreno-Adriatico, the Grand Tour is run by the RCS Sport company. Consequently the team will want to send a message by performing well.