Dubai: Tour veteran Rui Costa will be leading the UAE Team Emirates at Tirreno-Adriatico, to be held from from September 7-14. The iconic stage race sets off from Lido di Camaiore on Italy’s west coast before crossing the country and arriving in San Benedetto del Tronto on the easterly shores of the peninsula eight days later.
In a well-rounded team, Fernando Gaviria looks to add to his tally of five wins already this season in the sprint stages. The Danish Time Trial specialist, Mikkel Bjerg, will get a chance to test himself against the clock on stage 8 in the race’s only ITT.
“After coming close to victory at Tour du Limousin, I’m hungry for a win. I’ve been preparing especially for this race for the last few weeks and I think it’s a route that suits me nicely. Seeing our teammates doing well in the ongoing Tour de France gives us extra motivation to perform here also,” Costa said.
Marco Marzano, one of team’s Sports Directors, said: “Tirreno Adriatico will be an interesting race for us. We have several cards to play. Rui Costa is a specialist on these week-long races and will aim for the GC. Gaviria should have 2 or 3 opportunities for a sprint and will go in with the goal of a stage win. Then our young TT talent Mikkel Bjerg will get his chance on the final day for the TT which suits his characteristics.”
THE SQUAD
Rui Costa (Por); Mikkel Bjerg (Den); Fernando Gaviria (Col); Max Richeze(Arg); Aleksandr Riabushenko (Bel); Sergio Henao (Col); Sebastian Molano (Col).
