Last year Manuele Boaro (Saxo-Tinkoff) finished 3rd overall in the Tour of Denmark, and he is looking to climb to the top step of the podium in this year’s race as he makes a return to competitive racing following a month of non-action. In 2012 Boaro was bested by Lieuwe Westra and Ramunas Navardauskas. However, neither of them is participating in this year’s edition of the biggest, annual sporting event in Denmark.

“This is my first race after my lay-off,” Boaro told Cyclingquotes.com prior to the opening stage in Silkeborg yesterday. “But my legs feel fine and we have a strong and competitive team for the Tour of Denmark. Last year I finished third and I’m hoping to be able to improve on that result. My goal is to win the Tour of Denmark this year,” the Italian said.

Boaro was quick to point out, though, that he was not the sole Saxo-Tinkoff trump card to be played. His teammate Michael Mørkøv, according to Boaro, is also a rider for the GC, while Matti Breschel will be on the search for a stage win in the race that will surely see a lot of support for the Danish team as it races on home soil.

“For me it’s something special to be back in Denmark since Saxo-Tinkoff is based here. It’s essential that we deliver some good results in this race, and hopefully I’ll be one of the riders delivering,” he said with a smile.

25-year-old Boaro will be basing his GC ambitions on his powerful time trial abilities, hoping to emulate his performance from the Critérium International where he finished the TT as runner-up to Richie Port (Sky).

After the opening stage, Boaro is currently 51st overall in the Tour of Denmark, trailing Magnus Cort (Team CULT Energy) by 31 seconds.