Trek-Segafredo have confirmed their team leaders' major goals for 2021, with Vincenzo Nibali and Bauke Mollema to ride the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, while Giulio Ciccone will join them in Italy in May before leading at the Vuelta a España.
Former world champion Mads Pedersen and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Jasper Stuyven will lead Trek-Segafredo in the spring Classics and then join Nibali and Mollema in the eight-rider Tour squad to chase stage victories.
Trek-Segafredo men’s and women’s teams have gathered in Denia, Spain for a pre-season training camp that will last until January 25. The men’s team will reveal more about their goals and ambitions for the 2021 season later on Monday.
Nibali won the Giro in 2013 and 2016 but struggled to compete against his younger rivals last October, finishing seventh overall behind winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers). However, his coach Paolo Slongo is convinced Nibali can still be competitive in Grand Tours during a normal season.
Mollema and Ciccone will share leadership with Nibali at the 2021 Giro, taking the pressure off the Sicilian. Nibali is then expected to target stage victories at the Tour before leading Italy at the Tokyo Olympics. His contract with Trek-Segafredo ends in 2021 but he is keen to race one final season. He has been linked to with a move to Ineos but he could also end his career at Trek-Segafredo.
The 34-year-old Mollema fractured his wrist in a crash during stage 13 of the 2020 Tour, with surgery ending his season early. The team said he will look to add a Giro stage win to his previous successes at the Tour and Vuelta, before he joins Nibali at the Tour.
Mollema finished fifth at the 2019 Giro and his consistency has seen him finish in the top ten three times at the Tour de France. He is also likely to be part of the Netherlands team for the hilly road race at the Tokyo Olympics
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Ciccone struggled at the 2020 Giro after recovering from COVID-19 just before the race but he could be Trek-Segafredo’s best rider for the general classification in 2021 if Nibali and Mollema opt for stage victories. The 26-year-old has won two stages during six appearances at his home Grand Tour, and he won the climber’s competition in 2019 while supporting Nibali.
Trek-Segafredo confirmed that Ciccone will be given a clear leadership role for the Vuelta.
In the cobbled Classics, Jasper Stuyven and Mads Pedersen will lead a strong squad that also includes Quinn Simmons, Edward Theuns and experienced domestiques Kiel Reijnen and Koen de Kort.
Pedersen won Gent-Wevelgem in October with a clever ride that saw him outmanoeuvre rivals Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, while Stuyven impressed in the spring by winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
They have been included in Trek-Segafredo’s provisional team for the Tour de France, leaving four places on the eight-rider line-up to be confirmed nearer the race.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
