Italy has still to name its team for the elite men’s road race world championships in Qatar but the squadra azzurra is all but decided, with national coach Davide Cassani hoping that Elia Viviani or Giacomo Nizzolo can step up and produce a sprint that can beat bigger name rivals and faster finishers such as Peter Sagan, Andre Greipel, Mark Cavendish and Tom Boonen.
Cassani was at the Giro della Toscana last week observing his riders and Italy’s rivals. He saw Sam Bennett win the final stage and noted that Cavendish was strong despite losing to the Irishman.
“Unfortunately for us Cavendish is on form…” Cassani told Cyclingnews.
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Cassani is expected to name his squad of 11 riders after Thursday’s Gran Piemonte race. Eleven riders will be selected and will travel to Qatar, with nine riders starting the race on Sunday October 16. The riders expected to pull on the Italian jersey are Viviani, Nizzolo, Daniele Bennati, Fabio Sabatini, Jacopo Guarnieri, Matteo Trentin, Manuel Quinziato, Daniel Oss, Sonny Colbrelli, Marco Coledan and Filippo Pozzato.
Both Viviani and Nizzolo staked a claim to team leadership when speaking to Cyclingnews during the Tour of Britain, with a final decision likely to be made on the eve of the race depending on their form and the weather conditions in Qatar.
The Italian team will gather for a short get together next week before riders compete at Paris-Bourges and Paris-Tours with their trade teams. Former Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi has been invited along to inspire some national pride and perhaps recall how he sacrificed his own chances to lead out Mario Cipollini in 2002 when he won the rainbow jersey. Italy was once the dominant nation at the world championships but has not won the rainbow jersey since 2008, when Alessandro Ballan won in Varese. Cassani is under pressure but aware that he does not have the fastest or most experienced sprinter in the peloton.
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