The Spring Classics' season is entering thefinal stage. Setting the cobbles aside, the Green Machine's focus will now be on the Ardenne's races - the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, April 20th; Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday, April 23rd; and Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, April 27th. The three events are all part of the UCI World Tour schedule.

 

For the first race, the Amstel Gold Race, 251 km through the hilly Limburg region of theNetherlands, Cannondale Pro Cycling has selected a well-balanced team of experienced and young riders. Marcato Marcato will be the key rider for the team, as well as Alessandro De Marchi and Daniele Ratto. Davide Villella, Matej Mohoric and Alberto Bettiol will make their own debut in a Classic race, while Michel Koch and Jean-Marc Marino will guarantee the support needed to target a good result.

 

"We know how challenging and hard these races will be," said team director Alberto Volpi, who will lead the riders through the three events. "The Amstel Gold Race is a highly desirable target for many important riders, and we want to be part of the game too. Our young guns have the chance to race without stress and to show their potential, while Marcato, De Marchi and Ratto can play the role of the outsider. We have to race fairly without any fear - Amstel is an open race and we can find many tactical solutions to exploit during the race."

 

Among the Cannondale Pro Cycling team, Marcato is the rider who has targeted the win at the Amstel Gold Race as one of his dreams.

 

"It's an exciting race and I have a special feel for it," said the Italian rider, who returns to action after two weeks of altitude training on Mount Teide with De Marchi and Mohoric.

 

"After Milano-Sanremo I had a period of rest and then the camp. I worked a lot to be competitive for these events. It has been a new approach compared to the past, and I'm confident to perform well. Amstel Gold Race is a very unpredictable race, and the right attack can break up all the plans. I know I have to compete with many champions but I want to play my chances. The wins I took in my career came always with a surprise action - maybe could be the key also on Sunday."