Liquigas ready with strong trio for Trittico Lombardo

Under the August sun, the Liquigas team will head out not on vacation, but instead to the Trittico Lombardo including the Tre Valli Varesina on August 19, the Coppa Agostoni on August 20 and the Coppa Bernocchi on August 21.

Franco Pellizotti, Leonardo Bertagnolli and Filippo Pozzato will be the team's leaders under director sportif Stefano Zanatta, who is looking to add to the team's season tally of 23 victories so far.

Pellizotti will again wear his trade team's green-blue jersey after a brief appearance in the Italian azzurra's jersey in Beijing, where he supported Italian Davide Rebellin for his silver Olympic medal. His goal is the Tre Valli Varesine which this year also includes six laps around the circuit of the next UCI World Championship.

Bertagnolli will race with the team, too, after his victory in the GP of Camaiore. He could be the trump card in a team also including Valerio Agnoli, Kjell Carlström, Andrea Noè, Ivan Santaromita, Alessandro Vanotti and Charles Wegelius for Lombardo.

The second appointment in Lombardia will take the Liquigas on the Brianza's route for the Coppa Agostoni - another opportunity for Bertagnolli to try to repeat the success of 2004. In the second and third races, Agnoli, Carlström, Wegelius, of Dario Cataldo, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Matej Mugerli and Gorazd Stangelj will stand by Bertagnolli.

Pozzato will be the team's leader for Coppa Bernocchi where he will be working with the support of his Tour de France team-mate Murilo Fischer along with Agnoli, Kuchynski, Noè, Santaromita, Stangelj and Vanotti.