Liquigas-Bianchi with Garzelli, Di Luca and Cioni

Although Mario Cipollini won't be pulling on the green colours of Liquigas-Bianchi in Reggio Calabria on Saturday, the team expects its riders to be among the main protagonists of the race.

"We will start in the Giro with a strong team, especially for the hardest stages," said team manager, Roberto Amadio. "Riders like Garzelli, Cioni, Noé, Wegelius, and Miholjevic will play an important role on the big climbs. The Tour of Romandie gave us important signs, also for the time trials. We can also count on Di Luca, the ProTour leader: several finishes will be suitable to him in the first ten stages."

Amadio named Cunego, Simoni, Basso and Garzelli as the main players in the Giro, but cautioned, "To underrate riders like Savoldelli, Scarponi, and Gonchar would be an error."

Team roster: Stefano Garzelli, Danilo Di Luca, Dario Cioni, Andrea Noé, Dario Andriotto, Patrick Calcagni, Vladimir Miholjevic, Marco Milesi, and Charly Wegelius. Stefano Zanatta and Mario Scirea will act as sports directors.