Italian heavyweight Filippo Ganna will give the Australian track cycling team a run for their money on home soil at the upcoming Tour Down Under.
Forgoing the Tour de France in pursuit of Olympic gold in Paris, the two-time world time trial champion will instead headline the INEOS Grenadiers’ roster for the January road races in Adelaide.
Friday’s announcement comes a month after the Track Nations Cup, an Olympic qualification event, was confirmed to take place just a few days after the Tour Down Under.
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With the Australians hoping to use the two events as a marker of their progress to Paris, a maiden Tour Down Under victory for Ganna could spell trouble for their preparations.
The 27-year-old is the defending individual pursuit gold medallist, boasting seven Grand Tour stage wins and the world hour record on the track.
“I’ve heard that it’s a great race, in a beautiful part of the world and with great support from the crowd,” Ganna said in a statement.
“Together with my teammates, we’ll be looking to take on the race and starting 2024 in the best possible way.”
Fellow Italian sprinter Elia Viviani also joins Ganna for both events.
The 34-year-old is a former European champion with nine Grand Tour stage wins to his name, and is a seasoned hand at the Adelaide road races.
“The best years that I’ve had as a pro started at Tour Down Under. I won stages in both 2018 and 2019 and I really hope to replicate that,” Viviani said.
“The big goal is to really start my season with a stage win at the Santos Tour Down Under.”
Meanwhile, Australia is still rebuilding from the wreckage of their disastrous Tokyo Olympics campaign.
The track program has undergone significant change since clinching just one bronze medal in 2021 – their worst track cycling return at an Olympics since 1980.
Alex Porter face-planted on the track when his handlebar snapped in team pursuit qualifying, costing Australia any chance of contending for a gold medal.
The disastrous equipment failure prompted an independent investigation, which found that the faulty part was not tested properly.
Australia is hoping to be among the gold medal contenders in Paris in the men’s team sprint, with sprinters Matthew Richardson and Matthew Glaetzer, plus endurance rider Alexandra Manly competing at the Adelaide Super-Drome for round one of the Track Nations Cup.
The Santos Tour Down Under will take place in Adelaide and regional South Australia from 12-21 January 2024.
It will feature nine days of elite racing for men and women, and will be live on Seven and 7plus.
