Stage-hunters and attackers fill out the Giro d’Italia squad for Ag2r-La Mondiale, the lone French WorldTour team.
John Gadret, 13th in last year’s Giro, would like to win a stage and pop into the top 10 overall if he can hang with the best in the final week.
Veterans Cyril Dessel and Rinaldo Nocentini will headline the squad heading across the Alps in hopes of winning a stage and putting the jersey into some breakaways.
Nocentini, who got his name in the papers when he wore the yellow jersey during the 2009 Tour de France, has posted some promising results to start the 2011 season, with third overall at the Tour du Haut Var and seventh at GP Lugano.
Dessel, meanwhile, will be starting his first grand tour since the 2009 Tour. A stage-winner in the 2006 Tour, Dessel is hoping to get back on track after a few seasons marred by setbacks.
Others will get their chances as well, including Mickael Cherel, who was close to victory at the Tour de Romandie when he finished second to Alexander Vinokourov in stage 3.
Ag2r-La Mondiale for the 2011 Giro d’Italia: Julien Berard, Mickael Cherel, Cyril Dessel, Hubert Dupont, John Gadret, Ben Gastauer, Yuriy Kritsov, Matteo Montaguti, Rinaldo Nocentini.