CARDOSO LEADS FOOTON-SERVETTO LINE-UP FOR LTDL 2010
05/02/2010

KUALA LUMPUR - FOOTON-SERVETTO, previously known as Fuji-Servetto, will make their second appearance in the 15th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi 2010 (LTDL), 1-7 March.

Back again and registered at ProTour level, Mario Gianetti’s Footon- Servetto team for LTDL will be fronted by Manuel Cardoso, winner of the 2009 Portuguese national road race championship who just joined the team for the 2010 season.

Footon-Servetto has high hopes for 27-year-old Cardoso as he had won a record of seven victories while riding for Liberty Seguros team last year, which was disbanded before the end of the 2009 season. Cardoso started this year with a first time ProTour victory, winning Stage 3 of Tour Down Under, from Unley to Stirling (132km).

Even though Cardoso was competing alongside with big names like Cadel Evans and Alejandro Valverde in the tour; he successfully escaped in the last kilometre and arrived to the uphill finish to collect his first Pro Tour victory and also for the Team in their first Pro Tour race of the season. Cardoso, who began his professional career with team Carvalhelhos-Boavista in 2006, had several stage victories in the Volta a Portugal, Volta ao Algarve and Circuit du Lorraine.

Besides Cardoso, Footon-Servetto’s line-up also includes Matthias Brandle and Markus Eibegger from Austria, Pedro Merino and Rafael Valls from Spain, and Johnnie Walker (Australia). Cardoso is expected to ride with Valls, an expert climber who gave Footon-Servetto their first 2010 season victory when he won Stage 2 and clinched the third overall in the final general classification of the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, on January 19.

Another Spaniard is expected to strengthen the line-up against the challenging climb to the top of Genting Highlands this year is Pedro Merino, the Spanish rider won the Under 23 national championships in 2009. Merino, 22 years old, was a trainee for Fuji-Servetto last year and expected to be ready for the challenge in LTDL 2010.

Two new faces from Austria signed up with Footon-Servetto this season is Brandle, national individual time trial champion who gain professional experience with team ISTA in 2008 and Elk Haus, last year. Eibegger is the 2009 national road and mountain bike champion.

The only Australian rider listed in Footon-Servetto for this year’s LTDL is 23 years old Johnnie Walker, from Victoria who achieved domestic success in his country. Walker won Weelre Cycling Classic in 2006 and is expected to become the important driving force for Footon-Servetto, he ranked 26 overall in Le Tour de Langkawi 2008 when he was with South Australia-AIS. Walker is also part of the Australian national team who competed in the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart and raced in the Circuito Montanes in Spain and Tour of Britain.

With third place in the LTDL team classification last year, while their best rider Frederrik Kessiakoff took fourth place overall, Pro Tour team Footon-Servetto which is based in Muriedas Camargo, Spain is expected to be quite a force to be challenged in all categories of the 15th edition of this LTDL.

FOOTON-SERVETTO LINE-UP for LTDL 2010 : -
1. Matthias Brandle (AUSTRIA)
2. Manuel Cardoso (Portugal)
3. Markus Eibegger (AUSTRIA)
4. Pedro Merino (SPAIN)
5. Rafael Valls (SPAIN)
6. Johnnie Walker (AUSTRALIA)

The 15th edition of the UCI (Hors Category) stage race will take place from Kota Bharu - Kuala Berang (174.5km); Kuala Terengganu - Chukai (182.3km); Pekan - Mersing (145.6km); Mersin-Parit Sulong (163.5km); Muar - Port Dickson (116.9km) Putrajaya - Genting Highlands (102.8km) and Kuala Kubu Baru - Dataran Merdeka (133.7km), covering a total distance of 1019.3km.

A total of 120 riders from 20 teams including two local teams are expected to take part in the event, Le Tour de Langkawi 2010.

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