TEAM BAHRAIN McLARENANNOUNCES 2020 GIRO D’ITALIA SQUAD
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| Thursday, 1st October 2020 – The 103rd Giro d’Italia kicks off in Sicily on 3rd October with a 15km individual time trial from Monreale to Palermo. This year’s route is close to 3,500 kilometres in total, and after the first four Sicilian stages, the ‘Pink Race’ heads north along the Adriatic. The third and final week includes many iconic climbs where the GC contenders will do battle including Monte Bondone, Stelvio, Colle dell’Agnello, Col d’Izoard, Monginevro and Sestriere. The 2020 Giro d’Italia will end with another individual time trial: 16.5 kilometres from Cernusco di Naviglio to Milan. |
| “After the good result at the Vuelta last year – said Hermann Pernsteiner – I am very excited to be at the start of this year’s Giro d’Italia. It’s a very challenging route, and the third week I would call “brutal”. My goal is the GC, and for this, I will have to be careful in the first two weeks trying to waste as little time as possible in the two ITTs and then give it everything in the northern mountains”. |
| Franco Pellizotti, Sports Director, said: “It will be a very demanding Giro with a tough last week with several uphill finishes, and the unknown weather in the Alps at the end of October will represent an additional challenge for riders. We have a team with experienced athletes like Bilbao, Arashiro, Battaglin, and Capecchi and others like Pernsteiner and Padun, who will be in the Giro for the first time. Our goal will be to win as many stages as possible, while Pernsteiner will aim for a good result in the GC”. |
| Spaniard Pello Bilbao is pleased to be back on Italian roads: “I am thrilled to go back to the Giro, especially after the two-stage wins last year. I enter the race having good form after Tour de France. The first stages between Sicily and Calabria are particularly interesting for me, and I would like to be there at front fighting for victory”. |
| The Team Bahrain McLaren 2020 Giro d’Italia squad comprises: |
| Yukiya Arashiro (Japan, 36, 3rd Giro) |
| Enrico Battaglin (Italy, 30, 9th Giro, 3 stage wins) |
| Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia (Spain, 30, 4th Giro, 2 stage wins) |
| Eros Capecchi (Italy, 34, 11th Giro, 1 stage win) |
| Domen Novak (Slovenia, 25, 2nd Giro) |
| Mark Padun (Ukraine, 24, 1st Giro) |
| Hermann Pernsteiner (Austria, 30, 1st Giro) |
| Jan Tratnik (Slovenia, 30, 2nd Giro) |
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