Colombian team for Varese

Colombia's coach Franco Gini has announced the team for the World Championships, which start in Varese, Italy, today. Mauricio Soler, Félix Cárdenas and Leonardo Duque will build the small road team. Cárdenas and Duque will also race the time trial.

Third-year professional Mauricio Soler has had a great start to his pro-career and won the mountains classification in the 2007 Tour de France.

Cárdenas has won 22 races as a professional. He won the mountains classification in the Vuelta a España in both 2003 and 2004.

The third rider, Duque, will be available if a bigger group comes to the line. The fast finisher has five victories as a professional, including the 16th stage of the 2007 Vuelta a España.

Gini evaluated his team in course of the rolling terrain in Varese. "The Colombian athletes are distinct climbers. In Varese, the course is quite challenging, but not super-hard to possibly force a decision in the climb. We will play our best cards in breakaway attempts."