GP di Lugano – Oliver Zaugg – Lugano is virtually my home race –

THE LOCAL MATADOR

Oliver Zaugg. The 34-year-old professional and new addition to the IAM Cycling team for 2016 has lived almost ten years in Ticino, the beautiful Italian region of Switzerland. “Lugano is virtually a home race for me, and to start there gives me a little extra motivation. There will even be a few fans standing along the road side that I will know,” says Zaugg. “I like the route very much. The race will not be easy, and I am convinced that we have a good chance with our team. Personally, I am also feeling much better after I was a little sick last week which weakened my form ahead of the Ruta del Sol.”

THE ANALYSIS

“The GP di Lugano is the first Swiss race of the season, and for us as a Swiss team, it is of course correspondingly very important that we make a strong impression,” explains Marcello Albasini, who will be the directeur sportif for the IAM Cycling team. “We need to be vigilant from the outset, because the parcours invites nervous racing, and it is not unheard of that a group could slip away and end up taking the race. For our team, we have David Tanner and Jarlinson Pantano who will certainly be two strong riders at the start. But we also have Swiss riders who will be in a position to show their strengths. For the race, we won’t designate only one leader. We will rather be very attentive and active. That will allow the course itself to show us which of our riders will be in at the finish.”

THE NUMBER

70 – This Sunday will be the 70th edition of the GP di Lugano. If one flips back through the pages of the race’s history, the reward will be to see the name of a member of IAM Cycling’s team management: Rik Verbrugghe won the Lugano race in 2005, though today he is sports manager for the Swiss team.

LINE-UP Gran Premio Città di Lugano

Race Pictures – BettiniPhoto©2016