The Little Prince, Damiano Cunego will skip the Giro to ensure his top form for the World Championships and the Classics
Winner of the 2004 version of the Giro d’ Italia, Damiano Cunego has shown interest to ride the Classics and the World Championships in the season ahead.
Cunego won the Italian Grand Tour at a young age of 22 and has as many as seven Giro appearances under his belt.
However, the cyclist has now revealed that he will miss his home race and will ride the Tour instead, with a close eye on the Classics and the World Championships in Netherlands.
It seems that the Italian is happy with his last year’s approach, where he skipped the Giro and finished 6th at the Tour de France 2011.
On commenting about his goals for the season ahead, he briefed, "This year, I highlighted two events on the calendar: Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 22 and the Worlds in Valkenburg in September”.
The 30-year-old will also miss out on the 2012 Olympic Games, "I'll skip the Olympic Games in London, because the route doesn't suit me," he said.
Team Lampre-ISD rider is considered as one of the best classics and the climbing specialist which is the main reason behind his decision to ride the classics.
Team Saeco Macchine per Caffe-Longoni Sport staged his international debut back in 2002 and he rode with the side until the team announced its merger with Team Lotto back in 2004.
Damiano joined the Italian team in 2005 and is happy to continue his eighth consecutive season with Roberto Damiani’s squad.
His 2011 season was filled with a number of victories, including the 1st place finish at the Giro dell’Appennino, a stage 2 win at the Tour de Romandie and the second overall victory at the Tour de Suisse.
Cunego finished 3rd overall at the Montepaschi Strade Bianche and the Giro di Sardegna including the 2nd stage of the race.
The Italian warned his opponents for the season ahead, "My time is not over yet, In the Ardennes and also in Amstel, Philippe Gilbert will have to watch me".
Damiano’s exclusion from the Giro d’ Italia could also mean that Michele Scarponi might lead Team Lampre-ISD at the Giro d’ Italia 2012 but the news has not yet been officially confirmed by the Italian team.
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