"We will have our best riders in the team because we would like to repeat the successes we have had last year, when we
won 3 stages," Lampre's team manager Guiseppe Saronni said.
"Ballan, Cunego, Bruseghin and Napolitano are a guarantee for quality and they will be well supported by Marzano,
Mori and Tiralongo, while Santambrogio and Bindi will try to use their battling attitude."
"I always like to take part in Vuelta, so I'm happy to go to Spain this year too," Cunego commented. "The stages
are interesting and the opponents too, so it will be exciting trying to battle for victory in some stages. Last year
my final part of the season was fantastic after I had took part in the Vuelta, so I hope this could happen again."
On wednesday late afternoon Lampre's riders reached Grananda (Spain), where this years Vuelta starts tomorrow. The
Italian team found very good conditions: high temperature but not so high humidity and a very beautiful hotel, the Ac Granada.
On thursday morning, after the regular UCI medical checks, the Lampre riders absolved a training ride of four
and half hour: the riders rode through the Sierra Nevada and covered a 13 kilometres long climb.
"Even if there won't be climbs in the first stages , today [thursday, editor] our cyclists wanted to ride one climb," Lampre
sports director Piovani explained. "We hope we will be able to show a good pace in the three mountains stages, stage
7, 8 and 9."
Cunego talked about the conditions in Spain: "All rigth until now: the journey was good and the weather
seems to be perfect. Today I pedalled with my team mates, they were calm and focused. I hope this Vuelta could begins in a
better way than the one last year, when I crashed in the first stage: I had enough bad luck this year, haven't I?."
Lampre for Vuelta Espana 2008:
Alessandro Ballan, Emanuele Bindi, Marzio Bruseghin, Damiano Cunego, Marco Marzano, Massimiliano
Mori, Danilo Napolitano, Mauro Santambrogio and Paolo Tiralongo
