T-Mobile for Piemonte and Lombardy

T-Mobile has announced its teams for this week's Italian double-header. The same eight riders will contest both events in the north part of the country, and fittingly, the team has a strong Italian flavour.

Eddy Mazzoleni and Daniele Nardello will lead the German team in the hilly semi-classic on Thursday and again in the season's final ProTour race on Saturday, the centenary edition of the Giro de Lombardia. As in the past two years, the race will start in Mendrisio, Switzerland, before crossing over the border to Italy after 17km, following a looping course around the twin lakes of Como and Lecco before winding it up in downtown Como.

"Both riders are still in good form at this late in the season and they have prepared well for the season closers," said T-Mobile sporting director Valerio Piva.

Nardello, in particular, knows the region around Lake Como like the back of his hand. "I live in the area and often train in the mountains around here," said the veteran who has previously scored second and fourth place finishes in the 'race of the falling leaves'. "It is an extra motivation to perform well at big races that pass my own backyard," added the Tour de France stage-winner.

The T-Mobile squad is: Eric Baumann, Lorenzo Bernucci, Scott Davis, Kim Kirchen, Eddy Mazzoleni, Daniele Nardello, Michael Rogers, and Thomas Ziegler.