Lampre-Merida will be back in Spain for another WorldTour race. The blue-fuchsia-green team will take part in Vuelta al Pais Vasco from the 6th to the 11th of April.

Rui Costa will be the captain of the team. He recently obtained the 4th place in Paris-Nice and in Milano-Sanremo he was delivering a good performance before he got involved in a crash.

The Portuguese top rider will receive the support by a strong group of team ates: Bono and Plaza will guarantee a perfect shelter from the wind, Serpa and the young gun Conti will give their support on the climbs, Polanc and Mario Costa will have the task to join the breakaways and to support Rui Costa.

The additional value to the team will be Diego Ulissi who'll be back to racing in Vuelta al Pais Vasco. He's aware that he won't be competitive yet so he'll be available to give his contribution to the team.

"Rui Costa will be our captain. In the recent races, he demonstrated that his form is good," sports director Philippe Mauduit said. "It won't be easy to achieve top results because Vuelta al Pais Vasco is always a demanding race and the opponents' quality level will be very high.

"It will be fundamental to act as a united group in order to handle the characteristics of the course and to support Rui in the best way possible, also considering that Ulissi will be additional value to the team.

"The fourth stage with the finish in Eibar and the 5th stage with the summit finish in Aia will be the key ones for the overall classification but don't forget the final individual time trial."