Team Giant-Alpecin heads to this year’s Giro d’Italia following a hugely successful 2014 edition with three stage wins. Once again the goal is to win a stage and gain experience for the team’s riders over the 21 days with more than 3,000 km of racing.

This year’s Giro should present the team with opportunities for more than one rider to compete for stage victory. Two riders who will definitely be on the start line in San Lorenzo al Mare this May are Luka Mezgec (SLO) and Simon Geschke (GER).

Mezgec will be the last man in the sprint formation during flat and slightly hilly stages. With Geschke the team aims for a stage result from a breakaway that makes it to the finish. In last year’s Giro, Mezgec took the win in the final stage in Trieste, and Geschke took 2nd place in stage 11 and 7th in stage 17. 

Coach Addy Engels said, “Our primary target will be the sprint stages with Luka Mezgec, so in the final selection we will make choices that are aligned with this objective. Mezgec is a type of sprinter who is able to survive a climb in the finale, and we will determine our strategy from day to day.

“In the Giro there are always some stages that are too tough for a bunch sprint and not hard enough for the GC contenders. For these days we will bring riders such as Geschke to Italy to aim for a good stage result.”

LONG-LIST
Nikias Arndt (GER)
Bert De Backer (BEL)
Caleb Fairly (USA)
Johannes Fröhlinger (GER)
Simon Geschke (GER)
Chad Haga (USA)
Cheng Ji (CHN)
Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE)
Luka Mezgec (SLO)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Albert Timmer (NED)
Tom Veelers (NED)