Now that the world championships are over, the peloton focuses on the final Monument, Il Lombardia (Oct. 8). Before that happens an important cluster of Italian one-day races await designed for the climbers, puncheurs and sprinters. Especially daunting, some teams are fighting another race to avoid relegation from the WorldTour. Israel-Premier Tech is in the pressure cooker. IPT is currently in free fall and sit in 20th place out of 22 teams. If they are relegated, IPT will have to count on race organizers' wildcard invitations for the Grand Tours, without the certainty of the Tour de France, team sponsors may get cold feet. For the talented laden and points lacking IPT, ultimately, they will have to come up with some timely points in Italy.
"We are here to be protagonists, not spectators. We want to finish this season with good results. Motivation is always an important factor this late in the season and we are highly motivated to fight for victories. We have a strong group of riders for both the hilly races and the ones expected to finish in a sprint. We are ready."
-Claudio Cozzi. DS
"I'm looking forward to these Italian autumn classics. I'm really motivated. My condition is still good and I've prepared well so I think I can be confident taking on these races."
-Dylan Teuns
The line-up: Coppa Agostoni(Sept. 29); Antonio Puppio, Alessandro De Marchi, Jakob Fuglsang, Carl Fredrik Hagen, Corbin Strong, Michael Woods, Dylan Teuns.
Giro dell'Emilia(Oct. 1); Simon Clarke, Alessandro De Marchi, Jakob Fuglsang, Carl Fredrik Hagen, Corbin Strong, Michael Woods, Dylan Teuns
Coppa Bernocchi-GP BPM(Oct. 3); Alessandro De Marchi, Antonio Puppio, Reto Hollenstein, Daryl Impey, Corbin Strong, Alexandro Agrotis, Nadav Raisberg.
Tre Vali Varesine(Oct. 4); Simon Clarke, Alessandro De Marchi, Carl Fredrik Hagen, Jakob Fuglsang, Reto Hollenstein, Michael Woods, Dylan Teuns
Gran Piemonte(Oct. 6); Patrick Bevin, Daryl Impey, Reto Hollenstein, Corbin Strong, Simon Clarke, Carl Fredrik Hagen,Giacomo Nizzolo
Il Lombardia(Oct.8); Simon Clarke, Alessandro De Marchi, Michael Woods, Dylan Teuns, Jakob Fuglsang, Reto Hollenstein, Carl Fredrik Hagen.
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