The rider who was responsible for the majority of the team’s successes last year, Danilo Di Luca, left the team after a turbulent second half of the year and went to Team LPR. So manager Amadio lost the winner of the Giro and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He replaced one big Italian name with another, Daniele Bennati.


Following the fast Italian, also lead-out Corioni came over to the limegreen-jerseys. Other signings will always look pale, compared to Bennati, but Franzoi is also a useful addition to the team. Besides them, Liquigas also contracted a few youngsters who will try to follow Nibali a...