The German team will feature for the very first time in the Easter Monday Classic on April 21st. The strong lineup includes 2024 Junior World Champion Lorenzo Finn, and last year’s runner-up Davide Donati, together with Austrian Putz, British Thornley, and Australian Tuckwell

With less than two weeks to go, the Giro del Belvedere is shaping towards another very promising edition. After announcing the return of defending champions UAE Team Emirates Gen Z, it’s time to know who are the most formidable opponents who will fight for the crown on April 21st.

Following the increasingly technical and international level of recent years, living up to the race nickname of “Spring World Championship”, Belvedere will feature for the very first time the newborn team of Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies. Despite its recent creation, the German squad directed by Gregor Gazvoda has set the bar very high and it’s on the hunt for gold on the roads of Villa di Cordignano (Treviso).

The team stated that the goal of the U23 squad is “to prepare young riders for the WorldTour while aiming for maximum success”, and that’s exactly what is going to happen at the Giro del Belvedere. To reach this goal, the lineup will include an international team of young talents and rising stars: among those is 2024 Junior World Champion Lorenzo Finn.

“The season has going well so far, with some ups and downs, but I felt a boost in my form since the Settimana Coppi e Bartali and I’m looking forward to the next races with confidence and motivation”, commented the 19-year-old Italian. “We will recon the route the day before, since we will race Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 19, and we will understand better the different possible scenario.”

One of the aces of the German team is fellow Italian Davide Donati, who came up second in last year’s Giro del Belvedere, won by Slovenian of UAE Gal Glivar. “Davide could be a good card to play, since he already knows the course and proved he can be with the bests – argued Finn -. My goal is to be in the best possible shape and be ready: a lot depends on how the race will develop.”

Alongside the two Italians, the team includes strong Austrian Sebastian Putz (9th place in last year’s edition), British rider Callum Thornley – who boasts a top-10 in the Paris-Roubaix U23 -, and Australian Luke Tuckwell, also in the top-10 in the last Giro d’Italia Next Gen.

The route of the 86th Giro del Belvedere is of 168 km and 2,085 meters of elevation gain, featuring the iconic climbs Conche and Montaner, together with the steep ascent of Piai della Vigna.