Sunday, Lampre-Merida will end their 2013 campaign in Japan. The race will traditionally be held in and around the Japanese town Utsonomya. The peloton will be riding a 14,1 km circuit ten times before they hit the last circuit, which is 10,3 km.

The captain of the team will be the double winner of the race, Damiano Cunego. He will be helped by Elia Favilli, Simone Stortoni and young stagiaire Valeri Conti. The last man of the five man squad will be the former winner of the race Manuele Mori. He will be the team outsider. The race is important for the Italian team, due to the high number of sponsors from the Asian continent.

The Lampre-Merida team has obtained 64 podium results and 17 victories. Diego Ulissi is top scorer with 6 victories in his best season so far. Latest are his victories in the three Italian races Milano-Torino, Coppa Sabatini and Giro dell’Emilia. Their best GT result was made in the Giro d’Italia by Michele Scarponii. He finished 4th, 6 and a half minute behind the winner, Vincenzo Nibali.

Lampre-Merida’s Japan Cup roster: Manuele Mori, Damiano Cunego, Valerio Conti, Elia Favilli and Simone Stortoni.