Gianni Savio is still putting the finishing touches to his 2015 Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela team for 2015, but he has already confirmed that ageing rider Franco Pellizotti will remain a part of his squad.

36-year-old Pellizotti has shown in the recent Italian one-day races his ability to remain competitive and Savio has made the decision to keep the veteran on board with his young team.

“I think I’ll sign another couple of riders in the next week but Franco will be our leader next year,” Savio told Cyclingnews.

“He was second in the most important stage of the Giro this year on the Zoncolan and he has the credentials to be our leader once again. At the moment we have an agreement in place and it should be signed very soon.”

One rider Savio has missed out on is Damiano Cunego, who signed for Nippo-Vini Fantini, who are stepping up to the Pro Continental level for 2015.

“I have a really good relationship with Cunego and I’m a big fan of him but in our team we have just one leader in that role and that’s Franco. In a medium sized team like ours it’s not possible to have more leaders.”

Savio has up to sixteen spots on Androni for next season but, if he can secure more sponsors, that number may increase by a few more riders.

"Andrea Zordan, a former U23 Italian champion, Gianfranco Zilioli, and Alessio Taliani are three young riders who will stay with us for next season, while Davide Appollonio moves across from AG2R."

“I can also confirm that Yonder Godoy, Jackson Rodriguez, Emanuele Sella are also among those that stay.”

“My philosophy is to only sign riders once all the sponsors are in place. That means I’m starting with around 16 riders because that’s what my budget allows. That means I can’t confirm the future of Kenny van Hummel. I’d really like to offer Kenny a contract for next year. The problem with him is also that there are not that many races in Italy that are totally flat and suited to his style of riding. So I’ve got to wait until more sponsors are confirmed before I can offer Kenny another contract.” 

The other Durchman the team signed last year, Johnny Hoogerland, will leave the team, having signed with the Roompot Orange squad.