Swiss-registered, but with a strong Italian/Russian flavour, Team LPR has set its sights on the 2005 Giro d'Italia. Managed by 29 year-old Omar Piscina, Team LPR has signed the 1996 Giro d'Italia winner Pavel Tonkov (Vini Caldirola), who will lead the young squad into 2005. At the team presentation on Friday, Tonkov threw down the gauntlet to the Giro organisers. "I want to go to the Giro d'Italia at all costs," he said. "I saw the parcours on television and I'm sure that I could play a role as a protagonist. I don't feel my age, I only have a desire to relive the magical emotions of Montecampione, when Pantani deservedly beat me."
Team LPR also includes 38 year-old Russian Dmitri Konyshev, Barloworld signing Gabriele Missaglia, and Swiss neo-pro's Alberto Tiberio and Andrea Del Biaggio.
