Liquigas can be really proud of their achievements on the transfer-market this winter. Robert Amadio’s team really went for the victory in the Giro d’Italia with Di Luca and drawing aal the attention to the team. But the “killer” from Spoltore could not fulfil his ambitions. Just like Paolini and Backstedt, he just kept gasping to find his good shape. Afterwards, Di Luca said that his disappointing performance in the Giro was due to a dental problem. In the Vuelta the Italian found reasonable shape again to assist the Italian team in the World Championships, which is encouraging for the upcoming season. This year Di Luca will aim for the Classics once again and no longer the Giro.


In case Di Luca might fail, Liquigas has quality replacements like Pozzato, who came from Quick Step, and Paolini who joined one year earlier. The rest of Amiado’s money went to veterans Petito and Beltran, promising sprinters like Fisher and Chicchi, excellent helper Trenti, ‘classic’ Bertagnolli and young riders like Willems, Vanotti, Kuschynski and Cataldo who all still have a promising future ahead.


The eleven new riders clearly inject the Liquigas-selection with a quality spark. The riders that have left can easily be missed by the team. Garzelli hadn’t produced the level that could be expected from him years before. Riders like Cioni, Zanini (Predictor-Lotto), Loda, Milesi (stopped riding) and Andriotti (Acqua & Sapone) won’t really be missed.


Liquigas has high expectations for this season. And they should. With Pozzato, Paolini, Backstedt, Albasini, Di Luca, Petito, Willems, Bertagnolli and Fisher, Amadio has a very wide choice for the classics. During the Giro d’Italia, Danilo Di Luca hopes to hang on to his form, but the team will also hope that Franco Pellizotti will take full advantage of the potential he has and fulfil that expectation. Nibali can evolve in the shadow of these two men.


Liquigas can count on Chicchi, Gasparotto and Fisher for the sprints, not a bad bunch indeed. Chicchi might go for his own chances and deliver the promise he is, and Gasparotto is just hoping for a healthy 2007. He can aim higher if he proves to be a player in the sprints. Fisher, finally, had many victories in 2005, but failed to make any impression whatsoever in 2006, reasons can’t really be given. It’s safe to say the Argentinian hopes for a much better 2007 after his change in teams.


New:
Manuel Beltran (Discovery Channel), Leonardo Bertagnolli (Cofidis), Guido Trenti, Filippo Pozzato, Francesco Chicchi (Quickstep), Murilo Fisher (Naturino-Sapore di Mare), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Ceramica Flaminia), Roberto Petito (Tenax), Alessandro Vanotti (Milram), Frederik Willems (Chocolade Jacques), Dario Cataldo (neo)


Left:
Dario David Cioni, Stefano Zanini (Predictor-Lotto), Daniele Colli (Panaria-Navigare), Stefano Garzelli, Dario Andriotto (Acqua & Sapone), Nicola Loda, Marco Milesi (stopped), Alberto Curtolo (amateurs), Marco Righetto (unknown)