Italian Marzio Bruseghin heads into the new year as one of Movistar's aces and with two goals: the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España.
"I will be free to do my own race," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "My dream? The [mountain] time trial of the Nevegal at the Giro d'Italia. It's my home, it is one of my climbs, is one of my hunting grounds. If I look from the balcony, I see the Visentin mountain; behind it is Nevegal."
Bruseghin will start his season in Spain, in Movistar's home country, with the Challenge Mallorca.
"Debut in Mallorca, then the Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo and País Vasco, and then we'll see."
Last year, a crash forced him to end the Giro d'Italia early and limited his chances at the Vuelta a España. He placed 22nd at the Vuelta, but had he not crashed?
"Perhaps [a finish] in one of the first two places," he said. "All you need is one crash to screw up a three-week race."
La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote that some people believes he positions himself poorly within the group during races.
"False. I'm never back further than fifteenth position," he responded. "And at the Vuelta, for example, I was in the wrong place at the right time or right place at the wrong time, so the result does not change. The road was slippery, slimy, treacherous. But I have no regrets because I was not trying to crash."
In the valleys below the Visentin mountain, Bruseghin produces his own wine, a sparkling Prosecco. Certainly, the hobby requires that he samples his product. Maybe he drinks too much?
"Not true. And then the amount depends on the quality. A glass of a good one can only make everything better."
But, if he trained harder perhaps he could top the third place that he achieved at the 2008 Giro d'Italia. Maybe he could win a Grand Tour, become a champion.
"Maybe not a champion, and anyway what is certain is that I've done worse. I am currently pursuing my own research as to what works best for me."
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Movistar's 2011 team:
Andrey Amador Bipkazacova (Costa Rica)
David Arroyo (Spain)
Marzio Bruseghin (Italy)
Imanol Erviti (Spain)
José Vicente Garcia (Spain)
Iván Gutiérrez (Spain)
Jesús Herrada (Spain)
Beñat Intxausti (Spain)
Francisco Javier Iriarte Garro (Spain)
Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus)
Ignatas Konovalovas (Lithuania)
Pablo Lastras (Spain)
David López García (Spain)
Ángel Madrazo (Spain)
Carlos Oyarzún (Chile)
Sergio Pardilla (Spain)
Luis Pasamontes (Spain)
Francisco Pérez (Spain)
Rubén Plaza (Spain)
José Joaquín Rojas (Spain)
Branislau Samoilau (Belarus)
Enrique Sanz Unzue (Spain)
Mauricio Soler (Colombia)
Xavier Tondo (Spain)
Francisco José Ventoso (Spain)