The Professional Continental Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli team is heading into the Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts in Marina di Carrara on the Tuscan coast, with ambition. Director sportif Luca Scinto will be leading a confident flouro yellow, white and black team to the race of the two seas, following a strong performance on the white roads of Tuscany on Saturday.
“The Eroica [Montepaschi Strade Bianche – Ed] was a good test, although we were hoping to acheive more,” said ‘the Python’. “We’ll ride the Tirreno as we ride other races in order to distinguish ourselves, and we can count on a very good team. We hope to show ourselves well in the week-long race."
Oscar Gatto and Italian champion Givanni Visconti finished seventh and eighth respectively behind race winner Philippe Gilbert (OmegaPharma-Lotto), having been unable to follow the Belgian’s kick on the final climb to the finish in the hilltop city of Siena. The team had been one of the most animated in the latter stages of the race though, and had managed to put Davide Ricci Bitti in the twelve-man break that was away for much of the race.
Those three riders will be present at Wednesday's start, along with German Patrik Sinkewitz and Andre Noè who, at 42 years of age, is the oldest man in the professional peloton.
The team has performed its final training session on time trial bikes ahead of tomorrow’s 16.8km team time trial along the flat roads of the Tyrrhenian seaside resort.
Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli team for Tirreno-Adriatico:
Davide Ricci Bitti, Francesco Failli, Leonardo Giordani, Diego Caccia, Andrea Noè, Patrik Sinkewitz, Oscar Gatto and Giovanni Visconti.