As one of the most successful riders currently competing, Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi wants to follow in the footsteps of former rival Mario Cipollini and earn the rainbow jersey within the next two years.
He is set to leave LPR and move to Lampre-NGC for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, and feels that he can focus all of his efforts on this target.
“The World Championship is one of my main goals. One reason [Giuseppe] Saronni wants me to go to Lampre is so I can concentrate on the Melbourne and Copenhagen championships,” he told Tuttosport. “It is very satisfying to be part of an important team such as Lampre, a team who has full faith in me."
Mark Cavendish is undoubtedly the world’s fastest sprinter, but Petacchi can take heart from the fact that he’s one of the few riders who has managed to beat him this year. He got the better of the Briton on stage two of this year’s Giro d’Italia and will aim to do so more often in 2010, scoring an important psychological blow before the Melbourne road race. The courses for that and Copenhagen are expected to be conducive to big sprint finishes.
He plans to pick the brains of two Australian fastmen prior to the 2010 worlds, although it remains to be seen if the duo will give him any tips. “I want to call Robbie McEwen to get more information [about the course]. I will also call my former teammate Brett Lancaster, who can give me good advice. "
Petacchi rode the Worlds in 2002 and then again three years later. In Zolder he worked for Cipollini, who beat McEwen to take gold, while in Madrid he led the Italian team but lost contact with the Tom Boonen group.
"It is time for redemption," he said, vowing to make the most of the two rainbow jersey chances left to him before retirement.