Young Italian hope Moser set for Tour debut

Italy’s Moreno Moser (C) from team Liquigas-Cannondale in the central German city of Frankfurt an Main, on May 1, 2012. Highly-rated young Italian cyclist Moser was on Monday handed his Tour de France debut by his team Cannondale when they unveiled their plans for their leading riders for the forthcoming season.

PARIS (AFP): Highly-rated young Italian cyclist Moreno Moser was on Monday handed his Tour de France debut by his team Cannondale when they unveiled their plans for their leading riders for the forthcoming season.

Moser, 22 and nephew of Francesco a former world road race champion and winner of the 1984 Giro d’Italia, will head the team – formerly known as Liquigas – alongside Slovakian star Peter Sagan.

Cannondale, who saw stable star Vincenzo Nibali leave for the Astana team in the close season, will base their hopes for the Giro and the Tour of Spain round veteran Italian Ivan Basso, who already has two Giro wins to his name in 2006 and 2010.

Moser, who had a promising maiden season on the professional circuit last year, is also due to compete in the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Milan-Sanremo, as well as the three Ardennes classics (Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liège).

Sagan, who won the green jersey on the Tour de France last year, will also feature in several of the one day classics (Milan-Sanremo, Ghent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race), before competing in the Tour of California in May, before rejoining Moser for the Tour of Switzerland.

Moser’s fellow young Italian hopeful, Elia Viviani, 23, will team up with Basso at the Giro and the Paris-Nice race in March.