The MBH Ballan CSB Colpack team prepares for the new challenge of the Coppi and Bartali International Week, which will see 24 teams at the start. The stage race, scheduled on the roads of Emilia-Romagna from Tuesday 25 to Saturday 29 March, will feature seven WorldTour teams, seven Professional teams, and ten Continental squads.

The team led by Antonio Bevilacqua, Gabor Deak, the Ballan, D'Aprile families, and Beppe Colleoni is ready to field a high-quality team, guided by Gianluca Valoti and Davide Martinelli. Competing will be: Cesare Chesini, Sam Quaranta, Pavel Novak, Diego Bracalente, Lorenzo Nespoli, Manuel Oioli, and Luca Cretti.

"We have a solid group that has prepared at its best – explain the DSs Gianluca Valoti and Davide Martinelli – with a high-altitude training camp in Sicily. The first stage, from Ferrara to Bondeno (174 km), is suitable for fast riders and will likely end in a sprint. Then the race will quickly become challenging, with a second stage characterized by 3,000 meters of elevation gain".

Team manager Antonio Bevilacqua will also be present in Romagna: "The race organized by GS Emilia of Adriano Amici represents an excellent test and an important opportunity to compare with high-level riders. For us, it will also be a moment of growth ahead of the international classics in April, which last year gave us important results. The Coppi and Bartali is a precious opportunity for our guys to showcase themselves. Right here, last year, Florian Kajamini and Sergio Meris made contact with the teams that later brought them to professional cycling".

The race can be followed via streaming on Tuttobiciweb (with one hour of daily transmission), while images will be broadcast on a delayed basis on Rai Sport in the late afternoon.

On Sunday, March 30, the Bergamo-based team will instead race in Montanara di Curtatone, with the GP della Battaglia, a race reserved for Elite and U23 riders. Led by Giuseppe Dileo, competing will be: Balog, Balint, Casalini, Cipollini, Fiorin, and Quaranta.