PARIS, April 29, 2012 – Former two-time winner Ivan Basso will
spearhead the Liquigas team’s bid for glory at the Giro d’Italia which begins
in Herning, Denmark next week.
Basso won the race in 2006 and 2010 but was not 100 percent certain to
compete in the three-week epic until Saturday night when Liquigas named their
nine-man team.
Basso, a former runner-up at the Tour de France, said: “I’m feeling good
and I’m really looking forward to racing this Giro.
“I’ve done a lot of hard work preparing for the race. Now I feel ready to
compete for the pink jersey.”
Basso, 34, is at home on the climbs and in time trials and will be relying
mainly on Polish teammate Sylwester Smzyd, as well as Eros Capecchi, Valerio
Agnoli, Maciej Bodnar and Paolo Longo Borghini in the mountains.
Italian Fabio Sabatini is the team’s hope for the bunch sprints, following
the late withdrawal of Elia Viviani who suffered a hip injury setback at the
world track cycling championships in Melbourne.
Liquigas team for Giro d’Italia:
Valerio Agnoli (ITA), Ivan Basso (ITA), Maciej Bodnar (POL), Eros Capecchi
(ITA), Damiano Caruso (ITA), Paolo Longo Borghini (ITA), Fabio Sabatini (ITA),
Cristiano Salerno (ITA), Sylwester Szmyd (POL)