Abu Dhabi: As the UCI World Tour 2018 creeps into its final month, riders are gearing up to tackle the Giro dell’Emilia and the Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli.
This is the final opportunity for someone to pick up a victory on this year’s tour, and leading the charge for UAE Team Emirates will be Jan Polanc.
The Slovenian will rely on support from teammates: Matteo Bono, Ben Swift, Alexandr Riabushenko, Manuele Mori, Simone Petilli and Edward Ravasi for the Giro dell’Emilia, whilst Oliviero Troia will be drafted into the team to replace Edward Ravasi for the Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli.
Guiding the team across the two days of racing will be sports director, Daniele Righi who said: “The Giro dell’Emilia is more demanding. With the five climbs up San Luca, we are going to look to utilise of our young men Polanc, Ravasi and Riabushenko. Meanwhile, Bono, Mori and Swift will need to manage the first phases of the race, when there could be a few interesting escapes. In the GP Beghelli, Troia will take Ravasi’s spot to give more speed to the team in the case of a large group sprint in the final metres. Swift will need to be patient and wait for an attack of a small group of riders that could result in a small sprint for him. We are also watching Petilli, who is returning to action after crashing during the Vuelta a España last month.”
The Giro dell’Emilia is a 1. HC category race and due to its long nature and steep history — the race was first held in 1909 — could be compared to the Italian classics which occur earlier in the season. The 207km route finishes on the steep slopes of the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca, overlooking Bologna. UAE Team Emirates’ Diego Ulissi picked up the victory in this race in 2013.
The Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli is a 196km route through the outskirt of Bologna and will challenge riders to five loops of the Monteveglio circuit. Another of UAE Team Emirates’ riders also has history in this race, with Valerio Conti taking home the win in 2014.
