Liquigas in Belgium and Switzerland

The Liquigas team will be racing on two fronts this weekend. One part of the team will be in Belgium for the Omloop Het Volk and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne; the other will be in Switzerland for the GP Chiasso and GP Lugano.

Magnus Backstedt and Luca Paolini will captain the squad for Belgium under the guidance of Dario Mariuzzo. The team will also include Michael Albasini, Daniele Colli, Mauro Da Dalto, Nicola Loda, Marco Milesi, and Marco Righetto.

In Switzerland, the squad directed by Mario Chiesa will feature Andrea Noè, Vincenzo Nibali, Eros Capecchi, Patrick Calcagni, Kjell Carlström, Francesco Failli, and Charles Wegelius.

After crashing in the first stage of the Challenge Illes Balears, Backstedt's comeback to racing is eagerly awaited by his team. "It seems I've worked out the troubles I had in the tendons of my left knee," said Backstedt. "I've continued physiotherapy, but I was able to do a long ride without difficulties only yesterday. For the weekend, I hope to finish the races and help my team. My racing season is just starting."