Lampre, LPR for GP Etruschi

This weekend's GP Costa degli Etruschi marks the start of the Italian road season, and the Italian teams are ready to get back into competition after a long winter of training. Lampre-Fondital is looking to carry some of last year's momentum into this season with classics man Alessandro Ballan and sprinter Daniele Bennati leading the way. "If the weather will be good, the race will end with a sprint" said manager Fabrizio Bontempi, "We'll be ready, with the whole team that will work to bring Bennati to the sprint. Our riders are in good form: it will be our first race and we will face cyclists that have already raced, but I think that we can do good things".

Lampre-Fondital for GP Costa degli Etruschi: Fabio Baldato, Alessandro Ballan, Daniele Bennati, Matteo Bono, Paolo Bossoni, Claudio Corioni, Paolo Fornaciari, David Loosli, Massimiliano Mori and Daniele Righi. DS Fabrizio Bontempi.

The Professional Continental team LPR will debut in Italy this weekend. After a tense month spent fighting the UCI for their license, the team was granted Pro Continental status after a Swiss judge ruled in their favor. Taking a step down from T-mobile, Daniele Nardello will lend his experience to the young team. Maurizio Bellin, Borut Bozich, Luca Celli, Marco Marcato, Samuele Marzoli, Alessandro Maserati, Walter Proch and Luca Solari will also represent the team at the GP Costa degli Etruschi.