This weekend, the mountain bike rider Marco Aurelio Fontana will race the Strade Bianche with the Italian national team. He takes on the likes of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick-Step).

"The idea is a bit crazy but the location is spectacular. The competition is pretty tough and the route has steep climbs that will remain in the legs. The last 70 km will be decisive. I'm not used to riding such long distances, so I will try to spend as little as possible in the first half of the race,” Fontana said according to Cyclingnews.

In the Italian national team, we can find with Marco Fontana, Luca Braidot, Marco Canola, Nicholas Pettina, Giuseppe Sannino and Simone Velasco.

He won the bronze medal in the cross-country mountain bike race at the 2012 Summer Olympics.