Tinkoff looks for win on home soil

Italian team Tinkoff Credit Systems is looking for the first win in Italy for the season in the upcoming Tirreno-Adriatico. The eight riders of the team will target stage wins. They raced very aggressively last year in the Italian stage race preceding Milano-Sanremo, but did not manage to win a stage.

Directeur sportif Orlando Maini said that "It is important to manage the situation well and to benefit in the best possible way from the opportunities that arise during the race. Our presence should not be reduced to a simple cat walk," Maini indicated that this year, Tinkoff will not be just satisfied with gathering TV time in the earlier parts of the races. He continued that "with humility and pragmatism we want to interpret this Tirreno with a big commitment and devotion. Our objective is to obtain the first victory in Italy."

The eight riders trying to accomplish this feat will be Pavel Brutt, Evgeni Petrov, Alberto Loddo, Daniele Contrini, Luca Mazzanti, Alexander Serov, Mikhail Ignatiev and Vasil Kiryienka.

Petrov may be the squad's man for the overall classification and this race will also show his ambitions towards the Giro d'Italia. Maini concluded that "Petrov has already shown that in theory, from his potential, he can be among the best, but it is clear that a good result at Tirreno-Adriatico would please us all at Tinkoff."