World Champs TTT

Movistar Team will present their collective abilities on Sunday during the very first edition of the Worlds team time trial, while eight of their riders compete in the Memorial Pantani (Saturday) and Prato (Sunday)

Following their exceptional performance in the Vuelta a España coming to an end last Sunday in Madrid, Movistar Team are back on track as they divide their force into dos blocks in the Netherlands and Italy this weekend. At the Dutch region of Limburg, the telephone squad will be tackling on Sunday 16 the big innovation and first event of the World Championships, a team time trial of 53.2 kilometers from Sittard to Valkenburg where no less than five small climbs will be passed, including the most remarkable Lange Raarberg, Bergseweg and the mythical Cauberg, less than 2k from the finish. For thos opening Worlds race, the Blue squad will be lining up with Andrey Amador, Jonathan Castroviejo, Iván Gutiérrez, Vladimir Karpets, Vasil Kiryienka and Rubén Plaza. 

In turn, a second expedition departs on Friday for the Emilia-Romagna in Italy to compete in two of the country’s late-season semiclassics: the Memorial Marco Pantani (Saturday 15), over 183 km to Cesenatico featuring a demanding circuit with three passes of the Montevecchio climb (5.9km / 4.7%); and the GP Industria e Commercio di Prato (Sunday 16), a 178km event with eight climbs towards Carmignano (2.4km / 6%). Giovanni Visconti, already winner in Prato and runner-up at the Memorial Pantani -both in 2009-, will lead a seven-man group completed by Marzio Bruseghin, Juanjo Cobo, Javier Iriarte, Pablo Lastras, Sergio Pardilla and Enrique Sanz.