Norwegian road champion Thor Hushovd and Italian time trial champion Marco Pinotti will debut their new national team jerseys for the BMC Racing Team when they take the start at the Tour of Austria Sunday.
Pinotti won the individual time trial at last year's race and has his eye on the stage 7 race against the clock after winning his sixth national time trial title on Sunday. "With Fabian Cancellara being there, it won't be easy to win again," Pinotti said. "But I will look at my performance as a further chance to check the numbers and get some feedback."
Hushovd said he is particularly motivated for a stage win after winning his national road race in his hometown while also earning a runner-up finish in the time trial. "Since I have good form now, I would obviously like to get a stage win," Hushovd said. "But the first couple of days are mountain-top finishes to get it all started, so I will have to look at the details on the other stages so I can try and win one."
Assistant Director Jackson Stewart said the eight-day race has traditionally been a good one for the BMC Racing Team. In addition to Pinotti's stage win last year, the BMC Racing Team also had two riders in the top 10 overall (Steve Morabito was second and Pinotti was sixth) and in 2011, Greg Van Avermaet – who is also on this year's roster – won a stage. "With Mathias Frank on great form, I think he can have a really good week," Stewart said. "We have a really strong roster for all of the stage finishes so we will have many options."
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