Though based in Italy, the
Cannondale team has taken an increasingly international slant since the bike
manufacturer’s elevation to the role of title sponsor last season, and that
will be reflected in the squad's racing programme for 2014.
Thus, while the Giro d’Italia
is Ivan Basso's main
target of the year, his build-up sees him line up at the Tour of Taiwan instead
of Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico.
The
veteran Italian will begin his campaign on home roads at the GP degli Etruschi
and Trofeo Laigueglia, before riding the Volta a Catalunya, Giro del Trentino
and Tour de Romandie in the lead-up to the Giro. Basso will forget the Tour de
France in 2014 and ride the Vuelta a España instead, leaving Damiano Caruso to
carry Cannondale's general classification hopes in France. Sprinter Elia
Viviani, meanwhile, will return to the Giro and aim to land a stage win
after coming close on several
occasions in 2013.
While Sagan leads the line for
Cannondale in the cobbled classics, Moreno Moser will take centre stage in the
Ardennes classics. The Italian youngster will ride the same programme as Sagan
until Milan-San Remo and then aim to make a greater impact in the Ardennes than
he did in 2013. By that point, Cannondale's management will also have decided
whether to hand Moser a Giro debut or hold him back for the Tour or Vuelta
later in the year.
World under-23 champion Matej
Mohoric’s first major outing as a professional will be at Paris-Nice, where
Sagan famously won two stages as a neo-pro in 2010.
Elsewhere, Cannondale have
confirmed that Ted King will accompany Sagan at the Tour of California, along
with Canadian Guillaume Boivin, Maciej Bodnar and Fabio Sabatini.