Cervélo TestTeam invited to the Giro d’Italia
The Cervélo TestTeam is participating in the Giro d'Italia 2010. The RCS has announced the team invitations to the 2010 race and included the team in its short list.

"That's good news for us and it is a honour to get the trust from the Giro organizer to be part of this race," said
Jogchum Theo "Joop" Alberda, General Manager.

Cervélo TestTeam was invited back this year because of their strong showing at Giro d'Italia 2009 with three stage wins and third place in the GC from Carlos Sastre Candil and because of the team's philosophy of racing, product development and fan access.

The Giro will kick off in Amsterdam on 8 May and will stay in the Netherlands for three stages, before leaving the country and ends on 30 Mai in Verona with an individual time trial.  



Stages
1. 8 May Amsterdam (Netherlands) 8.4 km (TT)
2. 9 May Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Utrecht (Netherlands) 209 km
3. 10 May Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Middelburg (Netherlands) 224 km
11 May Rest day
4. 12 May Savigliano to Cuneo 32.5 km (TTT)
5. 13 May Novara to Novi Ligure 168 km
6 14 May Fidenza to Marina di Carrara 166 km
7. 15 May Carrara to Montalcino 215 km
8. 16 May Chianciano to Monte Terminillo 189 km
9. 17 May Frosinone to Cava de' Tirreni 188 km
10. 18 May Avellino to Bitonto 220 km
11. 19 May Lucera to L'Aquila 256 km
12. 20 May Città Sant'Angelo to Porto Recanati 191 km
13. 21 May Porto Recanati to Cesenatico 222 km
14. 22 May Ferrara to Asolo (Monte Grappa) 201 km
15. 23 May Mestre to Zoncolan 161 km
24 May Rest day
16. 25 May San Vigilio di Marebbe to Plan de Corones 12.9 km (TT)
17. 26 May Brunico to Pejo Terme 173 km
18. 27 May Levico Terme to Brescia 151 km
19. 28 May Brescia to Aprica 195 km
20. 29 May Bormio to Passo del Tonale 178 km21 30 May Verona 15.3 km (TT)
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Giro d'Italia, 8 May - 29 May 2010
Teams for Giro d'Italia (22):
AG2R La Mondiale
Acqua & Sapone
Androni-Diquigiovanni
Astana
BBox Bouygues Telecom
BMC Racing Team
Caisse d'Epargne
Cervélo TestTeam
Cofidis
Colnago-CSF Inox
Footon-Servetto
Garmin-Transitions
HTC-Columbia
Lampre - Farnese Vini
Liquigas-Doimo
Omega Pharma-Lotto
Quick Step-Innergetic
Rabobank
Team Katusha
Team Milram
Team Saxo Bank
Team Sky

ouch, sastre finished 19 minutes behind tondo today.

he finished 6 minutes behind in the gc last year at the vuelta a castilla y león... this is not looking very good for his form for the giro.

maybe tondo will be ctt's captain...? he certainly seems to be earning that privilege! (although whether he can hold his obviously good form until the giro is another question altogether)

Carlos Sastre Candil takes the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya as training, he will be okey when the Giro starts. There is no reason to worry, just yet. 

i know he is, but he took the same approach to the vuelta a castilla y león last year, but didn't lose nearly as much time.

i agree with you that sastre's modus operandi is to lay low until it's game time (e.g., one of the grand tours) - so i guess we'll just have to see how things pan out over the next couple of weeks.

Sastre loses time but still feeling upbeat in first race of the season
“The stage was very hard and fast, and we had about 3,700 metres of ascent,” the Spaniard said afterwards. “The sensations of today were not bad. I go as far as I can and the truth is that I don’t feel bad. I believe that the work done up till now has been good.”

“Now it pays to keep working and eliminating the things that are missing in order to reach the Giro d’Italia in the best condition.”

Basso getting ready for the Giro, expects Sastre to be a big rival
Despite Sastre’s anonymous showing, Basso is convinced that the Spaniard is on target for a strong ride in Italy.

“He looks fine, eager and very willing to fight,” he said. “He’ll be on the podium of the Giro for sure.”

Sastre content with efforts
"For being my first race of the season, I leave with a positive sensation," Sastre said. "The sensations weren't the best, but they weren't so bad, either. I know there's still a long way to go and a lot of training ahead of me to get ready for the Giro. This is my job and I know what I've got to do, but this race has helped me know what I've got to do from here on out."

His only upcoming races will be Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, two long-distance affairs that he says will help him find his form in time for the Giro.

"These are two important races, two races of 260km, very hard, in which I gain what I need to be 100 percent in time for May 8 in Amsterdam," Sastre said.

Giro releases preliminary start lists

Cervélo TestTeam (preliminary lists):
Carlos Sastre Candil (ESP)
Volodimir Gustov (UKR)
Xavier Tondó Volpini (ESP)
Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
Theo Bos (NLD)
Stefan Denifl (AUT)
Dominique Rollin (CAN)
Marcel Wyss (CHE)
Íñigo Cuesta López de Castro (ESP)
Daniel Lloyd (GBR)
Jeremy Hunt (GBR)
Ole Gabriel Rasch (NOR)
Davide Appollonio (ITA)
Edward Carrington "Ted" King (USA)
Joaquín Novoa Méndez (ESP)

If Bos rides the Giro, probably he won't be helping Hushovd defend his Green Jersey in the 2010 TDF. I guess management has decided he needs more GT riding experience. Both the Giro and TDF have stages in Holland - hopefully Bos will have some extra motivation to win a stage on Dutch soil.

as far as i know, bos has yet to start a gt.

he's said it himself, a while back, that he doesn't have the same lifetime base fitness that a lot of other road racers have because of his focus on track. i think it would do him some good to do a GT and get his body used to 3 weeks of racing before stepping up to the tour where he could turn out to be useful in only the first week or so.

jordan:

As far as i know, bos has yet to start a gt.

That's right, before last week and the GW, he hadn't even started a ProTour race..

This is my Giro d'Italia-team 2010:

Carlos Sastre Candil
Theo Bos
Xavier Tondó Volpini
Volodymyr Hustov
Daniel Lloyd
Marcel Wyss
Davide Appollonio
Oscar Pujol Muñoz
Joaquín Novoa Méndez

Carlos Sastre leads team in Giro d'Italia
The first Grand Tour of 2010 is just 9 days away. The Giro d'Italia starts in Amsterdam on Saturday, May 8, and then continues in the Netherlands for three days before the riders head to Italy. The 93rd edition of the Giro will be highlighted by the return of legendary mountains like Monte Zoncolan, Plan de Corones and the Gavia Pass before it ends on May 30 in Verona after racing 3,418 kilometres. This year's route will be ideal for expert climbers and resistance riders.

The selection for this year's Giro d'Italia is done. Nine riders have been nominated to tackle the challenge of the first Grand Tour of the 2010 season. "In fact, half of our team roster is the same as last year. This is very important because we will arrive at this year's Giro d'Italia with a more experienced team, ready to give our best," explained Sports Director Alexandre Sans Vega (ESP). "Our team roster was selected with the goal of providing the strongest support for our leader Carlos Sastre Candil (ESP) who came third in last years' Giro, and winning two stages. In addition we also had two other stage victories, notably in the final time trial with
Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU) who is again on this year's roster. We are ready and optimistic and very much looking forward to participating in this year's Giro."

"Last year I had a great time at the Giro d'Italia and I want to go back" said Carlos Sastre. "The fact that I haven't won the Giro gives me special motivation, and this years route is very attractive for a rider with my characteristics."


Selection Cervélo TestTeam - Giro d'Italia 2010
Carlos Sastre Candil (ESP)
Xavier Tondó Volpini (ESP)
Volodimir Gustov (UKR)
Marcel Wyss (CHE)
Íñigo Cuesta López de Castro (ESP)
Daniel Lloyd (GBR)
Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
Edward Carrington "Ted" King (USA)
Ole Gabriel Rasch (NOR)

Reserve riders:
Davide Appollonio (ITA)
Stefan Denifl (AUT)





CyclingNews
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Procycling's exclusive Giro d'Italia stage analysis
Winning opportunities for Carlos Sastre, stage 8,15,16 and 20!

Lloyd looking forward to second Giro with Cervélo
Cervélo's Daniel Lloyd will start his second Giro d'Italia on Saturday ready to support Carlos Sastre's ambitions of overall victory at the three-week race. The Briton will head to the Netherlands on Wednesday, where he will make final preparations for what will be the second Grand Tour of his career.

"I'm looking forward to it. I haven't raced for about four of five weeks, I've just been training, but you've got the Giro on your mind the whole time and I'm ready to go," Lloyd told Cyclingnews on Tuesday.

"Carlos is feeling good. He hasn't raced much since the Tour de France last year, but he's very experienced. He's fit at the moment and if he says this is an objective I'm willing to do everything I can to help," said Lloyd.



Approaching the Eleventh Hour - Edward Carrington "Ted" King
It's not quite the eleventh hour, but the clock seems to tick faster by the minute as I finalize my packing for the Giro. While this is my second time around for this spectacular race after completing the 2009 edition, I'll leave it up to you to trust me on this one: it is no small task packing for a three-week grand tour. Not only does the race cover more than 3,400 kilometers, but the race getting underway in the Netherlands certainly brings a zesty element of adventure to the mix.

I have nearly exhausted myself of telling people about this facet of the race, where we begin the Giro d'Italia in Holland. I too would most likely find this confusing if I weren't so closely tied to the sport. However, after explaining this two dozen times, the story does begin to get old.