Nicole Cooke (Great Britain) works hard to stay in touch.(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
World champion Tatiana Guderzo (Team Valdarno)(Image credit: Bert Geerts/dcp-bertgeerts@xs4all.nl)
Marta Bastianelli (Italy)(Image credit: Sirotti)
Former world road race champions Marta Bastianelli, Nicole Cooke and Tatiana Guderzo will be leaders of a new women’s team in 2011 sponsored by MCipollini bikes and Giordana clothing.
Several new teams are set to bolster the women’s racing scene in 2011 and MCipollini-Giordana has the potential to be one of the strongest with its three world champions.
Cooke won gold at the Beijing Olympics and her world title in Varese, Italy in 2008. She rode a limited race programme with the Great Britain national squad this year but is one of the most aggressive riders in the sport.
Tatiana Guderzo won the world title in 2009 in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Marta Bastianelli won the world title in 2007 but then tested positive for flenfluramine, a stimulant found in some dieting products, before the 2008 Olympics and was subsequently banned for two years. She returned to racing this summer.
The team will consist of 11 riders. Joining the three former world champions are junior world champion Rossella Callovi, Italian national champion Monia Baccaille, Marta Tagliaferro, Rossella Gobbo, Samantha Galassi and Elisa Frisoni. Other non-Italian riders include 2009 Swiss national champion Jennifer and Russia’s Julia Blindiuk.
The team will be managed by former Selle Italia team owner Walter Ricci Petitoni with Renato Valle and Francesco Fabbri as directeur sportif. The team plans to make its debut at the Tour of Qatar in February and will then target the UCI world Cup races, the Giro Donne before the riders represent their individual nations at the world championships in Copenhagen.
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
