Liquigas releases Tour roster
- By Andrew Hood
- Published Jun. 26, 2008
- Updated Jun. 26, 2008 at 12:50 PM EDT
Points contender Daniele Bennati will miss Tour
Liquigas will lineup without green-jersey candidate Daniele Bennati for next week’s Tour de France.
The Italian sprinter has been forced out of the Tour after problems with his Achilles tendon that flared up during Giro d’Italia, where he won three stages and the points jersey.
“I’m really gutted to miss the race,” said Bennati, who will return for the Vuelta a España in September. “Unfortunately the strain of the Giro caused my left leg to suffer, which is the one that had slightly less training because I injured it at the start of the year. I’ve spoken with the team and we all agree that it’s better to rest now and not risk the end of the season.”
Without the guarantee of Bennati, who won two stages in last year’s Tour, the team will be looking to Francesco Chicchi and Murilo Fischer to defend the team’s colors in the sprints.
The team will bring its star rider Filippo Pozzato, who will be shooting for a third career Tour stage victory after winning into Saint-Brieuc in 2004 and Autun in 2007.
While “Pippo” is not a pure sprinter, but he can win out of breakaways and in harder, classics-style courses. Manuel Quinziato, Frederik Willems and Aliaksandr Kuchynski will be helping to position Chicchi, Fischer and Pozzato in the sprints.
For the GC, the team is counting on veteran climbing ace Manuel Beltrán (18th overall last year), who will help lead the way for Tour debutantes Roman Kreuzinger, fresh off his impressive Tour de Suisse victory, and Vicenzo Nibali, 11th in the Giro d’Italia.
“This Swiss tour win proved his ability as a rider with a great future ahead of him,” said team manager Roberto Amadio about Kreuziger. “Our goal for the Tour is still the same as it was at the beginning of the season: to win the white jersey for the best-placed young rider. This will be Roman’s first Grande Boucle, and gives him a chance to gain experience in what some refer to as the university of cycling. We just want him to race and try to do his best. We have absolutely no intention of putting too much pressure on him. Whatever he does will be good enough for us.”
Liquigas for Tour de France
Manuel Beltran (Sp)
Francesco Chicchi (I)
Murilo Fischer (Brz)
Roman Kreuziger (Cz)
Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr)
Vincenzo Nibali (I)
Filippo Pozzato (I)
Manuel Quinziato (I)
Frederik Willems (B)
FILED UNDER: Road / Tour de France TAGS: Tour de France
Andrew Hood
Hood cut his journalistic teeth at Colorado dailies before the web boom opened the door to European cycling in the mid-1990s. Hood's covered every Tour since 1996 and has been VeloNews' European correspondent since 2002. He lives in Leon, Spain, when he's not chasing bike races.