UAE Team Emirates’ Diego Ulissi will embark on his first ride since the Giro d’Italia as the Italian tackles the GP Lugano on Sunday.
The 28-year-old, who finished second in the 2016 edition of the race, will be supported by an experienced team in southern Switzerland including compatriots Filippo Ganna and Simone Consonni.
Joining them will be the promising quartet of Anass Ait El Abdia, Aleksandr Riabushenko, Jan Polanc and Ben Swift.
Commenting ahead of the race, Ulissi said: “I’ve lived in Lugano for years now, so this race has practically become a home event for me.
“In 2014 and 2016, my last two appearances in the GP Lugano, I came close to success, achieving third and second place respectively in the final sprint.
“Usually the race comes down to a limited group of riders vying for victory, so it is important to make it into the lead positions in the conclusive laps.”
A one-day UCI European Tour race, the GP Lugano will see the peloton take on a 186km route through southern Switzerland with two notable climbs – from Lugano to Agra and Muzzano to Gentilino.
The climbs are sure to test the legs, but UAE will be hoping that their combination of riders will be able to mount a serious challenge and take home the title.
Elsewhere, Dan Martin will continue his preparations for the Tour de France when he leads a strong UAE outfit at the Criterium du Dauphine, which gets underway in Valence today.
The 31-year-old Irishman, who finished third in the 2016 and 2016 editions of the race, will have one eye on the Tour de France when he tackles the seven-stage race in France.
He said: “The Criterium du Dauphine is always a good test before the Tour de France, but given that this year there’s an extra week between the end and the start of the Tour de France, I expect that my form will be slightly behind with respect to previous years.
“The Dauphine is important also because it’s a mini-Tour de France, with an individual time trial, a team time trial – things that are hard to mimic in training – and because we race on some of the same roads that we are going to face in the 11th stage of the Tour.”
