After the Team’s good performance in Reggio Calabria, Saturday’s Trofeo Laigueglia, in Italy, will be another key stage in the set-up for Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo. The Italian semiclassic’s route will be hard as ever in the last few years, and will give General Manager Claudio Corti a valuable chance to state his riders conditions ahead of a very important phase of the season.

Corti himself and DS Valerio Tebaldi will lead the 8-man line-up in Liguria, North-Western Italy: Darwin Atapuma, Esteban Chaves, Fabio Duarte, Javier Gonzalez, Felipe Laverde, Frank Osorio, Dalivier Ospina and Jarlinson Pantano.

2012 Trofeo Laigueglia’s route features three different circuits, of 97, 53 and 45 km respectively, and 5 tough climbs, making the win a strong men’s business. The Passo Balestrino will be the highest ascent of the day, whilst the contenders will become familiar with Testico’s climb by the time they get back in Laigueglia, as they will face it three times before playing it hard on the final difficulty of the day, the short and steep “Muro (wall) di Pinnamare, peaking at 5 km to go.

“Our condition is growing – Corti declared – and we showed it in Reggio Calabria. Laigueglia’s route is tougher than the ones we faced so far in this season, so it’s fair to say we want to have an impact on this race. I wouldn’t pick a name over another – I am confident in my whole team’s chances to be protagonists in this race.”

Team’s Hotel: Loano 2 Village – Via degli Alpini, 6 – Loano (SV) – Italy

Photo: Darwin Atapuma is ready for his season debut