Liquigas ready for Tour

Team Liquigas has officially announced the line-up that will be starting in Brest."We’ve put together a competitive team that should do well on the different routes in the Tour" said directeur sportif Stefano Zanatta, "We’re aiming to win as many stages as possible, and we’ve got the right men to accomplish this goal."

Filippo Pozzato is the jewel in the team’s crown who will try to repeat last year’s success in the Chablis-Autun stage. He’ll be assisted by Manuel Quinziato, the team’s benchmark for the time trials, as well as Frederik Willems from Belgium and Aliaksandr Kuchynski from Belarus.

Battling it out on the race’s 19 hilly stretches will be the Spanish rider Manuel Beltran, a Liquigas veteran who is ready to offer his years of experience to help the two new boys to the Tour, Vincenzo Nibali and Roman Kreuziger, Roman has just won a superb victory at the Tour of Switzerland.

Murilo Fischer and Francesco Chicchi are the sprinters to watch out for: it’s their job to capitalise on the sprint finishes and fill in for Daniele Bennati.

Daniele will be sorely missed at this year’s Tour de France, but he’s out of action due to an Achilles peritendinitis to his left ankle that flared up in the last stage of the Giro d'Italia. "I’m really gutted to miss the race," said the Arrezzo rider. "Unfortunately the strain of the Giro has 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."

Bennati aims to be back in form for his next big outing on 30th August: the start of the Vuelta.

Team
Filippo Pozzato
Manuel Quinziato
Frederik Willems
Aliaksandr Kuchynski
Manuel Beltran
Vincenzo Nibali
Roman Kreuzige
Murilo Fischer and
Francesco Chicch