Davide Cassani unveiled at the end of today's final stage of the Trofeo Matteotti, taking place in Pescara, the names of the 5 cyclists who will represent Italy at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro: Fabio Aru, Vincenzo Nibali and Diego Rosa of the Astana group and two cyclists of BMC Pro Racing Team, Alessandro De Marchi and Damiano Caruso.

"It's never easy to make a choice of this kind - began the Italian coach - because five places are not enough; above all because there are so many athletes who have been excluded and deserved to go". However, despite the difficulty, Cassani does not hide his satisfaction: "It's a strong team that will try to achieve the best results, although it will not be easy, given the challenging characteristics of the course, with a 9 km climb which will surely be decisive. I chose athletes able to sacrifice themselves and give their all right from the beginning. I'm confident".

Regarding the women, Italy will be represented by Giorgia Bronzini, Elena Cecchini, Tatiana Guderzo (also reserve for the track) and Elisa Longo Borghini (also taking part in the time trial). While on the track, the pursuit team will consist of Simona Frapporti, Silvia Valsecchi, Beatrice Bartelloni and Francesca Pattaro.