Rider News: Petacchi at 38 wants quality not quantity

“I want to beat Cavendish, Farrar and Boasson Hagen” says Tour of Britain stage winner Alessandro Petacchi

Winner of stages in the Tour de France, Italy and Vuelta, in the same season back in 2003, Alessandro Petacchi will turn 38 in the new Year but still hankers to be the best sprinter in the world again. The Italian who rides for Lampre-ISD team feels he is capable of beating Mark Cavendish and the other younger sprinters, taking a more rational approach where he intends to focus on the quality of the victory rather than the quantity.

Alessandro Petacchi winning in Liverpool at the Tour of Britain

For the first time he will be heading Down Under for the World Tour race before returning for the big races such as Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo followed by the races on the cobbles in Belgium. “I want to be in Flanders and be competitive” he explained to La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I will decide after the San Remo whether I race them” he added.

The Italian also explained that he will most likely reluctantly miss the Tour of Italy because the Tour de France will be the team’s big goal. “I can better prepare in Belgium and then in Switzerland where I can be in top condition for the Tour. The goal is to win the Green jersey”.

Petacchi wants to make the most of his experience. “I’m stronger in the head, more rational and have not lost the instinct for sprinting. I am looking for quality rather than the number of wins. Physically I need more recovery time, so I need fewer hours of training, but harder with more gym and less bike”.

The rider who has won over 51 grand tour stages already in his long career expects to net about ten wins  in 2012 and to do that, will need to beat the many young guns in the peloton. “I want to beat Cavendish, Farrar and Boasson Hagen who are younger than me. I have total trust in the Lampre train though. Hondo is the leader and I trust him to lead me.”

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