Daniele Bennati, who got sidelined after a crash in the Tour de Romandie last week, will be replaced by Brice Feillu in the  LEOPARD TREK Giro line up.

“Without Bennati, winner of the points classification at the Giro in 2008, we lose the opportunity to go for the red points jersey,” says Sports Director Luca Guercilena. “We are confident in both Wouter Weylandt and Davide Viganò. They have shown good condition recently, and we believe they can be competitive in the sprints.”

The replacement of Bennati in the Giro line-up has not changed the rest of the goals for the team. “We go to the Giro to make the most of breakaway opportunities,” says Guercilena. “We want to show that we are fighters. This is one of the most important parts of our identity as a team. We fight and dig deep. This is the first big Tour for LEOPARD TREK in the history of the team, it is natural that we want to show our full capacity.”

LEOPARD TREK takes its duty seriously to select riders to the Giro roster who would support this goal. Dominic Klemme, Bruno Pires, Thomas Rohregger, Fabian Wegmann and Oliver Zaugg join Feillu, Viganò and Weylandt in what will be a historic moment for the team.