Lampre-Farnese Vini captain Damiano Cunego is feeling better every day after being hit with gastroenteritis before last weekend's Amstel Gold Race. The Italian managed to ride well in the Classic, finishing the day with a sixth place in Valkenburg. The team went for a two and a half hour training ride in Limburg today to prepare for the second of the three Ardennes Classics, La Flèche Wallonne, which takes place tomorrow.
"The lead up to the race has been good," sports director Brent Copeland explained. "On Monday we rested in order to recover our energy after the long journey from Italy and the efforts of Amstel Gold Race. On Tuesday we had a good training ride under a beautiful sun."
Copeland sees Cunego's condition improving and, with podium finishes in the last two editions of La Flèche Wallonne, things are looking good for the team's chances.
"In the Amstel Gold Race Cunego showed that he could be competitive: the after effects of gastroenteritis are decreasing and the morale is high after his good performance," Copeland continued, "I think that the whole team is ready for a good race, Gavazzi is too."
Cunego feels good about his chances tomorrow, and admits that he performed well in the Amstel Gold Race despite not being one hundred percent. He also thinks that there are many riders going well enough to pull off a big result.
"I'm satisfied with my performance in the Amstel Gold Race," said Cunego. "I knew my fitness was not at the top, so I had to grind it out to battle at the front of the race. Two days have passed and I feel better, the morale is increasing, also I'm thankful to have the support of my teammates. La Flèche Wallonne is charming but a very tough race: the Mur de Huy doesn't give you a chance if your legs are not full of energy. There will be many opponents that have a chance at victory, I hope that I'll be able to put in a good performance."
Lampre-Farnese Vini for the 2010 Flèche Wallonne:
Damiano Cunego
Matteo Bono
Francesco Gavazzi
David Loosli
Manuele Mori
Daniele Pietropolli
Daniele Righi
Alessandro Spezialetti