20 August 2019
Giro d’Italia stage winner Fausto Masnada is set to add depth to CCC Team’s roster when the Italian graduates to the Polish WorldTour team in 2020.
Masnada, 25, has signed a two-year deal on the back of a breakthrough first half of the 2019 season with two stage wins at the Tour of the Alps and a maiden Grand Tour stage win on stage six of the Giro d’Italia.
CCC Team General Manager said Masnada will increase the team’s ability to race well in the mountains and be competitive in stage races and Grand Tours.
“We are very excited to welcome Fausto Masnada to CCC Team and see him make his debut with a WorldTour team. We had our eye on Fausto for quite some time and his results this year confirmed that he is an incredibly talented rider. At just 25-years-old, Fausto has a long and bright career ahead of him and we are looking forward to helping him to develop further with us in the next two years,” Ochowicz explained.
“Fausto’s stage win and overall victory at the Tour of Hainan last year and two stage wins at the Tour of the Alps this year showed how well he can climb and his ability to win in a variety of situations. I think Fausto’s performance at the Giro d’Italia, with his win on stage six and another two top-five results, as well as numerous aggressive displays in breakaways, was a sign of what we can expect from him next year against some of the best riders in the world. We are looking ahead to the 2020 season with a lot of excitement knowing that our roster has been strengthened with the addition of Fausto and the other riders we have already announced.”
Masnada is ready to make the move to the WorldTour after three years at the Professional Continental level.
“Moving up to a WorldTour team was my goal since the beginning of the season, so I am really happy to join CCC Team next year. The years I have spent in Andiron Giocattoli-Sidermec helped me to grow professionally and obtain the necessary results to be noticed by a big team. To join CCC Team is my opportunity to reach the top level of cycling and I am ready and really excited for the new challenges that lie ahead,” Masnada said.
“I think CCC Team is a good fit for me because I already know some of the team members like Marco Pinotti, Gabrielle Missaglia, and the Italian riders like Jakub Mareczko and Alessandro De Marchi. All of the details and the organization of the team are really impressive, including the material like the Giant bikes. I am really looking forward to joining the team, racing at the WorldTour level, and continuing to grow as a rider.”
Masnada’s consistency this year has seen the Italian place in the top ten in the General Classification at Tour de la Provence, Giro di Sicilia, where he claimed the KOM classification, Tour of the Alps, and Tour of Slovenia, as well as second overall at the Giro dell’Appennino.
