As the start of the season rapidly approaches for the riders in the peloton, the big guns from various teams are finalising their racing programmes. The schedules will be tweaked as the season goes on, but Team Katusha has told VeloNation what four of its main riders will be starting with.
World number one Joaquim Rodriguez will line out in the Challenge Mallorca races, as will double world championship runner-up Alexander Kolobnev. They will be joined by Danilo Di Luca, the controversial Italian rider who has returned from a suspension and signed a one year deal with the team.
The Mallorca races are a good starting point for riders in that they comprise five races run back to back and have an overall classification, but it is not necessary to ride each won. Competitors can dip in and out as they please, interspersing bursts of racing with training spins on the Spanish island.
The terrain is also a mixture of flat roads and more mountainous routes, again enabling riders to pick and choose.
One of the team’s other big name riders, Filippo Pozzato, will make his 2011 debut in the Tour of Qatar. He will square up there against Classics rival Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and others, building form in advance of his early-season targets.
This year is an important one for the Italian, who went close to Classic victories last season but never really looked as dominant nor as committed as the other challengers. He has vowed to make some changes, ride more aggressively and to deliver this time round.