Lampre Merida had a near-anonymous Tour de France but is aiming to bounce back from that in the Vuelta a España, with Michele Scarponi saying he intends to be a factor in the Spanish event.
The veteran rider finished fourth in the Giro d’Italia and was also second in the Italian road championship, third in the Volta a Catalunya and fifth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He has fixed on the Vuelta as one of his big end of season targets, and so too the world championships in Florence, Italy.
“It's not so simple to take part, with good results, in two three weeks stages races,” Scarponi said, referring to the task of hitting another peak after riding the Giro, “but I trained in a proper way and I'd really like to be competitive.
“It would be interesting to evaluate if I'll be able to fight in the overall classification, then I'll aim to be protagonist in mountains stages: it would be great to win one stage.”
If that happens, it would set him up for worlds participation. “I hope to be in such good condition to show that I'd could be a valid member of the national team that will race in Florence, since the course could be suitable for my characteristics.”
The team also expects Winner Anacona and Simone Stortoni to perform well on the climbs, while it envisages Maximiliano Richeze and Massimo Graziato as being factors in the sprints. Diego Ulissi and Manuele Mori go to the race targeting breakaways and stage victories, with Luca Dodi and Matteo Bono being given roles as domestiques.
Of those, Anacona was nineteenth in his Vuelta debut last year, while Richeze has taken eleven podium finishes this season.
Like Scarponi, Ulissi also believes a win could be on the cards, as well as a place on the worlds team. “My target is a stage victory and I know I could battle to reach this goal,” he said. “Stage by stage my fitness should improve, so that I'll be ready to perform a very good World Championship if I'll be member of the national team.”