Giro d'Italia - T-Mobile Team Announced
T-Mobile Focuses on Stage wins at the 90th Giro. Sirhy Honchar out with illness.

T-Mobile Team
Team to Focus on Stage Wins
The T-Mobile Team start Sunday's Giro d'Italia intent on scooping a few stage wins over the course of the three-week event May 12 - June 3. The Giro is the season's first Grand Tour and is a traditional battle-ground for Italy’s top teams and riders.

"The Giro is the season highlight for most Italians - both fans and riders - a real national event," says T-Mobile sporting director Valerio Piva, "and we can expect more of the same this year." T-Mobile travel to Italy without expected starter Serhiy Honchar. The veteran Ukrainian caught a cold at the Tour de Romandie last week, forcing him to retire from the Swiss race, and he has not yet fully recovered.

Serhiy was our man for the GC," says Piva. Indeed last season, Honchar, who lives in Italy, pulled on the Giro race leader's Maglia Rosa for the second time in his career and his absence will be a big loss to the magenta team. without Honchar, the team’s race-plan will centre around the hunt for stage wins.

 "We don’t just want to go along for the ride, if the chance is there to go for a stage win, we will take it," says Piva, who will be looking to the Italian duo of Marco Pinotti and Lorenzo Bernucci, in particular, to make their mark on the Corsa Rosa.

Tour kicks-off Saturday with team time trial in Sardinia
he tour kicks off on Saturday on the island of Sardinia with a 25.6 team time trial. In former Italian time trial champion Marco Pinotti and young Czech Frantisek Rabon the T-Mobile Team have two chrono specialists in their ranks - and the flat 43 km ITT from Bardolino to Verona on the penultimate day should suit Pinotti as well.

Also in the roster are Adam Hansen of Australia, Aaron Olson of the US, Thomas Ziegler of Germany and the vastly experienced Belgium Axel Merckx. Honchar will be replaced by either Jacob Piil of Denmark or Michael Barry of Canada.

"As well as many the many climbs, the Giro offers plenty of chances for the sprinters to leave their mark," says Piva, who will be counting on the fast legs of Greg Henderson in the bunch showdowns. It is the 30-year old New Zealander’s first start in a Grand Tour.

Tough parcours to suit the peloton’s climbing specialists
While the sprinters and time trialists will have their moments, the 90th Giro is mostly one for the climbers. The 198 riders from 22 teams will have to negotiate 31 categorized climbs over the course of the 3.442 kms from Sardegna to Milano.

Stage 4 from Salerno finishes atop the the Montevergine di Mercogliano, a 17.1 kilometre climb that touches gradients of 10%, the first of five punishing summit finishes.

"The riders won’t have much time to ease their way into it. It gets straight down to business," says Valerio Piva. Queen stage is likely to be stage 15 to Tre Cime di Lavaredo - after two brutal passes, the Passo di San Pellegrino (11.6 km long) and the Passo Giau (9.8 km), the riders must tackle the 7.15 km run up the Tre Cime di Lavaredo climb - which touches an 18% gradient near the top. A real slugfest between the leading candidates is expected.

The T-Mobile Roster:
Lorenzo Bernucci (27/Italy)
Adam Hansen (25/Australia)
Greg Henderson (30/New Zealand)
Serhiy Honchar (36/Ukraine) ***
Axel Merckx (34/Belgium)
Aaron Olson (29/USA)
Marco Pinotti (31/Italy)
Frantisek Rabon (23/Czech)
Thomas Ziegler (26/Germany)
*** Honchar will be replaced by either Jacob Piil of Denmark or Michael Barry of Canada.

Sporting director: Allan Peiper (47/Australia) and Valerio Piva (48/Italy)

Giro d'Italia Stages:
12.05. - stage 1: Caprera - La Madallena - Team time trial, 25.6 km
13.05. - stage 2. Etappe: Tempio Pausania - Bosa, 205 km
14.05. - stage 3. Etappe: Barumini - Cagliari, 181 km
15.05. - 1st rest day
16.05. - stage 4: Salerno - Montevergine di Mercogliano, 153 km **
17.05. - stage 5: Teano - Franscati, 173 km
18.05. - stage 6: Tivoli - Spoleto, 177 km
19.05. - stage 7: Spoleto - Scarperia, 254 km
20.05. - stage 8: Barberino di Mugello - Fiorano Modenese, 200 km
21.05. - stage 9: Reggio Nell'Emilia - Lido di Camaiore, 177 km
22.05. - stage 10: Lido di Camaiore - Santuario Nostra Signora Guardia - 250 km**
23.05. - stage 11: Serravalle Scrivia - Pinerolo, 198 km
24.05. - stage 12: Scalengo - Briançon (Fra), 163 km
25.05. - stage 13: Biella - Santuario di Oropa - Mountain TT - 12.6 km
26.05. - stage 14: Cantu - Bergamo, 192 km
27.05. - stage 15: Trento - Tre Cime di Lavaredo - 184 km**
28.05. - 2nd rest day
29.05. - stage 16: Agordo - Lienz (Aut), 189 km
30.05. - stage 17: Lienz - Monto Zoncolan  - 142 km**
31.05. - stage 18: Udine - Riese Pio X, 203 km
01.06. - stage 19: Treviso - Comano Terme, 179 km
02.06. - stage 20: Bardolino - Verona - ITT, 43 km
03.06. - stage 21: Vestona - Milan, 185 km
Total: 3486.2 km
** (Summit Finish)