Italian professional Gilberto Simoni may ride the world mountain bike championships in Val di Sole, Italy, this year. The championships will be held between 17-22 June and for once they are taking place in Simoni's home region of Trentino. But whether the two-time Tour of Italy winner fronts up for the men's cross country race remains to be seen.
"Actually, at the moment it's neither a dream nor a reality," he said after testing the course recently. "Now I have to think about my next races, the Giro del Trentino and the Giro d'Italia. To participate in a world championship organised in the Trentino region, my area, is like a dream, but I want to be sure that it will be a good dream. I don't want to come to Val di Sole just to put a race number on my jersey. On the contrary, I want to be the star and I want the race to finish like my dream!"
Simoni, together with Italian cross country rider Silvano Janes, rode around the course twice. The first to get a feel for it and the second at speed. Simoni's gave his assessment afterwards: "A nice technical course with some difficult sections ideal for making a selection. It's definitely a championship course that will test riders' abilities. Aggression will be critical."
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