2011 Liquigas–Cannondale season

The 2011 season for Liquigas–Cannondale began in January with the Tour de San Luis and ended in October at the Japan Cup. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.

2011 Liquigas–Cannondale season
Manager Roberto Amadio
One-day victories 7
Stage race overall victories 3
Stage race stage victories 21
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The team had 30 victories in 2011, second-most among top teams behind only HTC–Highroad. The team's most prolific winners were Peter Sagan and Elia Viviani, who accounted for 22 of them. The team failed to relive their great successes of 2010 in the Grand Tours – Ivan Basso, though the reigning Giro d'Italia champion, declined to defend that crown and focused instead on the Tour de France. Vincenzo Nibali was instead the leader for the Giro, and again for the Vuelta a España, where he did return to defend his championship. The team took two stage wins each in the Giro and Vuelta, but did not mount a serious threat for the overall crown in any of the three. Elsewhere, the team's principal successes were in single-day races, especially those in their home country Italy, winning seven such races.

Team roster

Ages as of January 1, 2011.

Rider Date of birth
 Valerio Agnoli (ITA) (1985-01-06)January 6, 1985 (aged 25)
 Stefano Agostini[N 1] (ITA) (1989-01-03)January 3, 1989 (aged 21)
 Ivan Basso (ITA) (1977-11-26)November 26, 1977 (aged 33)
 Francesco Bellotti (ITA) (1979-08-06)August 6, 1979 (aged 31)
 Maciej Bodnar (POL) (1985-03-07)March 7, 1985 (aged 25)
 Eros Capecchi (ITA) (1986-06-13)June 13, 1986 (aged 24)
 Damiano Caruso (ITA) (1987-10-12)October 12, 1987 (aged 23)
 Davide Cimolai (ITA) (1989-08-13)August 13, 1989 (aged 21)
 Mauro Da Dalto (ITA) (1981-04-08)April 8, 1981 (aged 29)
 Tiziano Dall'Antonia (ITA) (1983-07-26)July 26, 1983 (aged 27)
 Timothy Duggan (USA) (1982-11-14)November 14, 1982 (aged 28)
 Mauro Finetto (ITA) (1979-06-16)June 16, 1979 (aged 31)
 Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA) (1987-08-14)August 14, 1987 (aged 23)
 Ted King (USA) (1983-01-31)January 31, 1983 (aged 27)
 Kristjan Koren (SLO) (1986-11-25)November 25, 1986 (aged 24)
 Paolo Longo Borghini (ITA) (1980-12-10)December 10, 1980 (aged 30)
Rider Date of birth
 Alan Marangoni (ITA) (1984-07-16)July 16, 1984 (aged 26)
 Moreno Moser[N 1] (ITA) (1990-12-25)December 25, 1990 (aged 20)
 Dominik Nerz (GER) (1989-08-25)August 25, 1989 (aged 21)
 Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) (1984-11-14)November 14, 1984 (aged 26)
 Daniel Oss (ITA) (1987-01-13)January 13, 1987 (aged 23)
 Maciej Paterski (POL) (1986-09-12)September 12, 1986 (aged 24)
 Simone Ponzi (ITA) (1987-01-17)January 17, 1987 (aged 23)
 Fabio Sabatini (ITA) (1985-02-18)February 18, 1985 (aged 25)
 Juraj Sagan (SVK) (1988-12-23)December 23, 1988 (aged 22)
 Peter Sagan (SVK) (1990-01-26)January 26, 1990 (aged 20)
 Cristiano Salerno (ITA) (1985-02-18)February 18, 1985 (aged 25)
 Sylwester Szmyd (POL) (1978-03-02)March 2, 1978 (aged 32)
 Alessandro Vanotti (ITA) (1980-09-16)September 16, 1980 (aged 30)
 Elia Viviani (ITA) (1989-02-07)February 7, 1989 (aged 21)
 Cameron Wurf (AUS) (1983-08-03)August 3, 1983 (aged 27)

One-day races

Before the spring season and the races known as classics, Viviani won the first single-day race of the season held in Italy, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi. The finish was a field sprint, and Viviani came in first after a leadout from Peter Sagan, who held on for fourth. The race was noteworthy as well for the absence of six-time reigning champion Alessandro Petacchi from the team's Italian rivals Lampre–ISD.[15] Viviani also won the first Tour de Mumbai race,[16] and nearly won the second, finishing just centimeters behind Team RadioShack's Robert Hunter.[17]

Spring classics

Basso won the Gran Premio di Lugano in late February. After Caruso launched an attack that effectively softened the field, Basso's winning move came as his teammate was caught. He drew Geox–TMC's Fabio Duarte with him, and defeated him in the sprint 16 seconds ahead of the front of the remaining field.[18] The team came to the first monument race of the season, Milan–San Remo, without a real field sprinter, despite that race's tendency to end in a sprint. When a crash occurred on the Le Manie climb 90 km (56 mi) from the finish line, effectively splitting the race into two groups, Nibali and BMC Racing Team captain Alessandro Ballan struck a deal wherein both squads would send men to the front of the leading group. This was both to keep the group out ahead of the second so that sprinters left behind like Óscar Freire, Mark Cavendish, and Tyler Farrar would not be able to contest the win, but also to potentially get rid of the few sprinters that had made the split, namely Tom Boonen, Alessandro Petacchi, and Heinrich Haussler.[19] The tactic was successful; BMC Racing Team and Liquigas-Cannondale, along with Omega Pharma–Lotto and FDJ, effectively drove the leading group such that their advantage never fell below one minute. Nibali tried to attack for victory on the Poggio, knowing that even among the small group that was left he was not likely to have the best finishing sprint. Seven riders followed his acceleration, and all seven eventually passed him, leaving Nibali eighth on the day.[20] After Peter Sagan had showed strong form at Gent–Wevelgem, the squad was touted as fielding contenders at the second monument race, the Tour of Flanders.[21][22] The squad failed to be at all competitive, however; only Koren and Oss finished the race, with six others, including Sagan, abandoning before the conclusion.[23] Their best-placed rider being 95th was criticized as a major disappointment.[24] Nibali rode Liège–Bastogne–Liège as his final tune-up prior to the Giro d'Italia. While race winner Philippe Gilbert and the Schleck brothers, who rounded out the podium with the Belgian, slipped away on the Côte de Roche aux Faucons and were not caught, Nibali instigated the chase group that formed on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas. He finished eighth.[25] Afterward, he said he was satisfied with his performance, since he had not gone into the red to follow Gilbert and the Schlecks and put in a good ride on the last climb. He was, however, spent from his effort on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas and could not sprint for fourth place.[26]

The team also sent squads to the Montepaschi Strade Bianche, the GP Miguel Indurain, Paris–Roubaix, the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and the Giro di Toscana, but placed no higher than 11th in any of these races.

Fall races

The team also sent squads to the Clásica de San Sebastián, Tre Valli Varesine, Trofeo Melinda, GP Ouest-France, the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the Memorial Marco Pantani, the Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli and the Amstel Curaçao Race, but placed no higher than 11th in any of these races.

Stage races

The team won two minor classifications at the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria in January, Oss the youth classification and the squad the teams classification.[27] In February, Peter Sagan was dominant at the Giro di Sardegna, winning three stages with three different sorts of rides. He took stage 1 from a 25-strong group sprint after a proper leadout by Capecchi and Oss, finishing a full bike length ahead of Alessandro Ballan in second.[28] While he lost his race lead after stage 2 when he finished two seconds behind an attacking Damiano Cunego and José Serpa,[29] Sagan reclaimed it with a similar move in stage 3. With an uphill sprint finish shaping up, Sagan attacked and drew Cunego and Serpa with him, the three of them finishing two seconds clear of the best of the scattered groups that finished behind them.[30] The fourth stage was flat and seemed suited for a full field sprint, but Sagan slipped away in the final kilometer to finish a second ahead of the fast-charging sprinters at the head of the peloton, for his third win.[31] He ceded a little time back to Cunego and Serpa in the hilly stage 5, but still won the race overall by three seconds over Serpa and seven over Cunego; also winning the points classification in the process.[32] While Basso had hoped for overall success at Tirreno–Adriatico,[33] he failed to be a major factor at any point, and finished fourth overall. Nibali was fifth, and the squad won the teams classification.[34] Guarnieri won the early afternoon short road race on the last day of the Three Days of De Panne.[35] Sagan took a stage win at the Tour of California for the second year in a row. The young Slovakian was best of a 45-rider group that finished together at the head of the four-climb stage.[36] He also won the sprints classification for the second year in a row, thanks to high placings on other stages in addition to his win. On the whole, however, his climbing legs were not as good as they had been in 2010, since he finished the race in 35th place over 20 minutes down in the overall. He was also just fourth-best in the youth classification.[37]

The team also won lesser classifications at the Tour de Suisse,[38] the Tour of Slovenia,[39] the Tour de Pologne,[40] the USA Pro Cycling Challenge,[41] and the Giro di Padania.[42] The team also sent squads to the Tour Down Under, the Tour de San Luis, Paris–Nice, the Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, Volta a Catalunya, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Giro del Trentino, the Tour of Turkey, the Tour de Romandie, the Tour de Luxembourg, the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Eneco Tour and the Tour of Utah, but did not achieve a stage win, classification win, or podium finish in any of them.

Grand Tours

Giro d'Italia

Reigning Giro champion Basso will not defend his title, preferring to focus on the Tour de France. He had for a time considered riding the Giro in a supporting role to Nibali, who will ride as the squad's captain. Team management decided that in the interests of respecting the race, they would not have Basso ride but be unable (due to saving himself for the Tour) to give full effort in the Giro's most difficult stages.

Season victories
DateRaceCompetitionRiderCountryLocation
January 30Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria, Young rider classificationUCI Europe Tour Daniel Oss (ITA) Italy
January 30Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria, Teams classificationUCI Europe Tour[N 2] Italy
February 5Gran Premio della Costa EtruschiUCI Europe Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) ItalyDonoratico
February 11Tour de Mumbai IUCI Asia Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) IndiaMumbai
February 22Giro di Sardegna, Stage 1UCI Europe Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) ItalyPorto Cervo
February 24Giro di Sardegna, Stage 3UCI Europe Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) ItalyLanusei
February 25Giro di Sardegna, Stage 4UCI Europe Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) ItalyOristano
February 26Giro di Sardegna, OverallUCI Europe Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) Italy
February 26Giro di Sardegna, Points classificationUCI Europe Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) Italy
February 27Gran Premio di LuganoUCI Europe Tour Ivan Basso (ITA)  SwitzerlandLugano
March 15Tirreno–Adriatico, Teams classificationUCI World Tour[N 3] Italy
March 31Three Days of De Panne, Stage 3aUCI Europe Tour Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA) BelgiumDe Panne
May 19Tour of California, Stage 5UCI America Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) United StatesPaso Robles
May 22Tour of California, Sprints classificationUCI America Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) United States
May 24Giro d'Italia, Stage 16UCI World Tour Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) ItalyNevegal
May 26Giro d'Italia, Stage 18UCI World Tour Eros Capecchi (ITA) ItalySan Pellegrino Terme
May 29Giro d'Italia, Fair Play Teams classificationUCI World Tour[N 4] Italy
June 13Tour de Suisse, Stage 3UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK)  SwitzerlandGrindelwald
June 17Tour of Slovenia, Stage 1UCI Europe Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) SloveniaNova Gorica
June 18Tour de Suisse, Stage 8UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK)  SwitzerlandSchaffhausen
June 19Tour of Slovenia, Points classificationUCI Europe Tour Kristjan Koren (SLO) Slovenia
June 19Tour de Suisse, Points classificationUCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK)  Switzerland
July 2GP KranjUCI Europe Tour Simone Ponzi (ITA) SloveniaKranj
July 15Coppa Città di StresaUCI Europe Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) ItalyStresa
July 16Coppa Papà CarloUCI Europe Tour Simone Ponzi (ITA) ItalyStresa
August 3Tour de Pologne, Stage 4UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) PolandCieszyn
August 4Tour de Pologne, Stage 5UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) PolandZakopane
August 6Tour de Pologne, OverallUCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) Poland
August 6Tour de Pologne, Points classificationUCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) Poland
August 25Vuelta a España, Stage 6UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) SpainCórdoba
August 26USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 4UCI America Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) United StatesSteamboat Springs
August 27USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 5UCI America Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) United StatesBreckenridge
August 28USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Stage 6UCI America Tour Daniel Oss (ITA) United StatesDenver
August 28USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Points classificationUCI America Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) United States
September 1Vuelta a España, Stage 12UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) SpainPontevedra
September 7Giro di Padania, Stage 2UCI Europe Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) ItalyVigevano
September 9Giro di Padania, Stage 4UCI Europe Tour Ivan Basso (ITA) ItalySan Valentino di Brentonico
September 10Giro di Padania, OverallUCI Europe Tour Ivan Basso (ITA) Italy
September 10Giro di Padania, Points classificationUCI Europe Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) Italy
September 10Giro di Padania, Sprint classificationUCI Europe Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) Italy
September 11Vuelta a España, Stage 21UCI World Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) SpainMadrid
September 18Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di PratoUCI Europe Tour Peter Sagan (SVK) ItalyPrato
October 8Tour of Beijing, Stage 4UCI World Tour Elia Viviani (ITA) ChinaShunyi

Footnotes
  1. Rider joined the team on August 1 as a stagiaire.
  2. The riders on the squad were Maciej Bodnar, Damiano Caruso, Tiziano Dall'Antonia, Mauro Da Dalto, Ted King, Paolo Longo Borghini, Daniel Oss, and Maciej Paterski
  3. The riders on the squad were Ivan Basso, Vincenzo Nibali, Maciej Bodnar, Damiano Caruso, Tiziano Dall'Antonia, Jacopo Guarnieri, Alan Marangoni, and Daniel Oss
  4. Six-way tie with Androni Giocattoli, HTC–Highroad, Quick-Step, BMC Racing Team, and Colnago–CSF Inox

References
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  2. "Basso and Nibali to remain with Liquigas". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  3. Ryan, Barry (13 October 2010). "King, Duggan and Wurf confirmed with Liquigas-Cannondale". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
  4. "Australia's Wurf joins Liquigas-Doimo". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
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