Damiano Cunego (Lampre) looks to be the strongest contender for this Sunday’s rainbow jersey in Mendrisio, Switzerland, hoping to improve on his silver medal from last year’s World Championships behind countryman Alessandro Ballan (Lampre). The Italian signaled that he is in top form by winning two mountain stages in the Vuelta A Espana, dropping his rivals as he soloed to glory.
Cunego’s punchy riding style will suit Sunday’s race course, similar to Giro di Lombardia, a race he has won three years in a row. “I have been really good the past weeks. My condition is good and I’m calm. It would be great to win on Sunday but it will be difficult. I always come up with difficult goals. If I win that would be top. But otherwise I will just try to win a different race” he told Sporza in an interview.
Cunego, 28, can rely on a strong, aggressive team including reigning World Champ Ballan and Filippo Pozzato (Katusha). “We always ride aggressively. If our rivals attack, then we will react to the situation. A hard race is to our advantage, so that will be our goal. The race course is very hard, harder than last year in Varese. I can’t see riders like Tom Boonen as a favorite, it’s too hard of a race for riders like him. There is also a lot of talk of Oscar Friere and Philippe Gilbert, we will see what happens” said the confident Italian.