After several years as a pro continental team with a main focus on the Italian calendar, Androni-Venezuela aims at having a broader perspective in 2014. The ultimate goal is to join the WorldTour in 2016 and the team is trying to secure the needed funding from the Venezuelan government.

Gianni Savio and his Androni-Venezuela team has been one of the traditional powerhouses of Italian cycling for more than a decade. With a mixture of young Italian talents, exciting riders from South American countries and ex-dopers who have got a second chance, the Italian team has achieved much success, with Jose Rujano's 3rd place in the 2005 Giro d'Italia being the main highlight.

Until now, the team has mainly focused on the Italian calendar, with occasional participation in foreign races as well. The races organized by RCS Sport have been the highlights, with the Giro forming the centrepiece of the season schedule.

After several years at the pro continental level, Savio has, however, greater ambitions. The veteran team manager wants to join the WorldTour and has started the process of transforming the team into one at the highest level.

The Venezuelan government is already acting as a co-sponsor of the team and has shown interest in upping its commitment to make the step up to the highest level possible. The team would provide the South American country a platform for its young riders to show their potential and follow in the footsteps of Rujano.

"I am in negotiations with the Venezuelan Government and I’ll have an important meeting at the beginning of next year;" Savio told Cafe Roubaix. "Artemio Leonett, the president of the Federation, is very interested, as is Alejandra Benitez, the Minister for Sport. They are willing to invest, and I hope we will have a World Tour team for 2016, which is an Olympic year."

For several years, the team has had Venezuelan riders on its roster and is now looking for more talents from the South American country. U23 time trial champion Yonder Godoy will join the team next year while Carlos Gimenez - described as the new Rujano - will follow in his footsteps in 2015.

"Things are looking good so far: you know we have that project developed for young Venezuelan riders, thanks to which we discovered Yonder Godoy and Carlos Gimenez, who has the potential of becoming a Grand Tour contender in the future," Savio said. "For now, he will ride for Maltinti, a U23 team, and he will join us in 2015. I want to discover other young riders in the future, so it’s very important to have a World Tour structure."

To become a WorldTour team, Savio needs to expand his racing program and have a more international perspective. For 2014, he has taken the first few steps by signing Johnny Hoogerland and Kenny Van Hummel from the now defunct Vacansoleil team.

We wanted to broaden our horizons, our philosophy, and to adapt to the reform of international cycling, that’s why we signed them," he said. "You know that there will be some changes, and we must be prepared to go in races from Northern Europe. We have faith in Van Hummel for the sprints, while Hoogerland brings a good image for the team, as he is very aggressive, very combative in races. Androni and Hoogerland share the same mentality. And yes, we hope to be in some of the Ardennes Classics, as we have huge ambitions for 2014."

Androni-Venezuela had a moderately successful season with 13 wins. The main disappointment was the missing stage win in the Giro d'Italia where the team had taken victories in both 2011 and 2012.

On the other hand, the team secured its 2014 invitation by finishing second behind Lampre-Merida in the Coppa Italia classification. As the winners are already part of the WorldTour, the automatic wildcard goes to Androni who can face the new season with the knowledge that they will be on the start line in Belfast in May.

"We had many good moments during this season, because we honoured all the races, starting in January with the Tour of San Luis, where Mattia Gavazzi won a stage, then in April, with Alessandro Malaguti in the Route Adélie de Vitré," Savio said. "Also, even if we didn’t won a stage, we were protagonists in the Giro, where our team had a record: 1680 kilometres spent in the breakaway. After the Giro, another important win was that of Marco Frapporti in stage four of the Route du Sud, followed by the overall triumph of Carlos Ochoa in the Vuelta a Venezuela, where we also scored two stage wins. Finally, in September, we won the Gran Premio Industria & Commercio di Prato with Gianfranco Zilioli.

"We were second at the end of the season, but that only because there was a stratospheric, an extraordinary Diego Ulissi who won three of the last four races," Savio said, referring to the Coppa Italia. "Still, we are happy, because thanks to that result we received a wild card for the next Giro d’Italia."

In addition to Hoogerland and Van Hummel, the team has signed several interesting young riders for the 2014 season.

"We have many very good young riders, and I’m very happy," Savio said. "These riders are Gianfranco Zilioli, Andrea Zordan, the U23 Italian champion, and Yonder Gondoy, who won the U23 time trial title in Venezuela. People noticed him in the World Championships, where he was in the breakaway for more than 100 kilometres, despite being the youngest rider in the race, just 20 years old. There is a big chance for Zordan and Zilioli to ride the Giro next season, but first we must see their condition."

Zilioli impressed the entire world when he won the GP Industria while riding as a stagiaire for the team.

Another rider who showed his talents in 2014, was neo-pro Diego Rosa. The youngster was 16th in the Giro del Trentino and 23rd in the Giro after only having raced as a professional for less than 5 months.

Savio has big expectations for his young talent in 2014.

" He can be one of the captains of the team in the Giro, not a “domestique”, as was the case in 2013," Savio said. "Anyway, all these riders are combative and I’m sure they can shine next season."

Rosa will, however, have to share leadership responsibilities with Franco Pellizotti who will stay with Savio despite being very close to a contract with Astana. The move collapsed just before Christmas when Pellizotti's biological passport case and the rules of the Movement for a Credible Cycling meant that he would have to postpone his racing debut until May 2.

Savio went back to his sponsors and secured the funding that was needed to keep Pellizotti in his ranks. As Pellizotti was already part of the team, Savio didn't violate his new principle that will force him to stay away from ex-dopers and focus on young talents in the future.

Androni-Venezuela will start its season in the Tour de San Luis in January.