Luca Guercilena has high hopes for Luxembourg PRO Cycling Project's first season
Cycling-associated scientist Luca Guercilena, who recently joined the Luxembourg PRO Cycling Project as directeur sportif, has laid out some of the team's plans for the 2011 season.
Guercilena joins the team from Italy's Mapei Centre, where he worked closely with several of veteran manager Aldo Sassi's riders.
Before making the switch, the Italian also worked as directeur sportif for Quick Step, a contract he had to buy himself out of in order to join his new employers.
"I had to pay a penalty to get out of my contract with Quick Step but that's okay," Guercilena told Italian daily
La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It was nothing personal against my old team but I wanted to study and continue to learn."
His new team, which can already count former Saxo Bank riders Andy and Frank Schleck and Fabian Cancellara in its roster, will undoubtedly be one to watch next year after it came first in the UCI's hierarchy of teams for 2011.
"I still haven’t targeted [the Grand Tours] as the big goal of the season," added Guercilena, who believed the team's season will not only be about Andy Schleck's performance at the Tour de France. "We’ll be competitive all season. We’ve got the first get-together
in Crans Montana in Switzerland. I’m very curious and can’t wait to get started."
Looking forward to coaching Bennati
On 20 October, it was announced that Italian sprinter Daniele Bennati would join the Luxembourg PRO Cycling Project roster for next season.
Guercelina said he was eager to get working with Bennati, who has suffered from injury problems during the past three seasons.
"When we draw up his race programme, we’ve got to keep in mind that he’s had an Achilles heal problem," he said, adding that the Classics will form the rider's initial priority in 2011. "We hope he can have a good Milan–San Remo, then target Ghent–Wevelgem.
It’s unlikely he will ride the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but he’ll ride the Giro [d'Italia]. His second peak of form will coincide with the Vuelta [a Espana] and world championships."
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