We kick off a big month of March with the white gravel roads of the Strade Bianche. One of our key races from last season, we will looking to go one better and take the victory.



Moreno Moser will be our leader in Italy, and will be given the support required to take honours at the finish. Davide Villella and Simon Yates will be super domestiques, whilst Luke Rowe and Marco Frapporti give the team an option should it end in a larger bunch than planned.

Dan Fleemann and Fredrik Ludigsson will ride for the team, and Matej Mohoric will aim for the day's break, as he looks to continue his early season development.


Sponsor Goal: Top 5
Team Goal: Top 5
Best Result: 2013 - Davide Villella (2nd)

As we planned, Mohoric attacked early to get himself into the day's break away. A large group of 11 riders formed, with no big threats to victory present.



Heading onto the first section of white gravel, the break had 6'12" advantage over the main pack, which was led by Katusha and Flamina.



The lead group's gap peaked at 8'33" before Lampre and Cannondale began to up the pace of the chasing peleton. We had Moser positioned well at the front, and the support around him was fantastic from the guys.



With 20km to go, the gap was down to less than 1 minute, and the favourites began to attack. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) made the move, and their rivals were responding behind.



The break was caught as the favourites continued to accelerate, and a larger group of 22 formed. Moser was involved in the mix, and now had Mohoric for some valued support.



Just past the 5km to go mark, Moreno finally made his move. Only Rodriguez and Ulissi (Cannondale) could follow, and it looks like the victory would come from this group.



Under the Flamme Rouge, Moser kicked again, and distanced the other two riders. Was he finally going to break his duck for Bianchi...



YESSSS!!!! What a victory for our man, as he comfortably takes the win in Siena. Rodriguez takes second 16" back, with Ulissi third ahead of the group of other favourites.

1	Moreno Moser	Bianchi Factory Team	4h36'33
2	Joaquím Rodríguez	Katusha Team	+ 16
3	Diego Ulissi	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
4	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana ProTeam	+ 21
5	Simon Spilak	Katusha Team	+ 43
6	Damiano Caruso	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
7	Ivan Rovny	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	+ 49
8	Yoann Bagot	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1'00
9	Oscar Gatto	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
10	Wout Poels	Vacansoleil - DCM	s.t.

The result in Strade Bianche had given the Bianchi squad a massive boost. Roma Maxima was next, and this was going to be a completely different kettle of fish. After a hilly start, the stage looks set to end on a cobble circuit around the streets of Rome.



With no real cobbles specialist in the team, victory could be a long shot. However, that will not deter us. The team has been split into two, giving us different options depending on how the race pans out.

Team 1 is made up of Philip Lavery, Tobais Ludvigsson and Caleb Ewan, whilst Team 2 consists of Luke Rowe, Marco Canola and Nelson Oliveira.

Fredrik Ludvigsson and Dan Fleeman complete the team, and will ride in Domestique and Free Roles respectively.


Sponsor Goal: Top 5
Team Goal: Top 10
Best Result: 2013 - Simon Richardson (23rd)

Dan Fleeman attacked just after the flag drop and form part of the day's break, along with a familiar face from last season, Rene Mandri.



Lampre, Garmin and Sky set themselves up on the front on the peleton over the early hills, and the breakaway's gap peaked at 7'54".



The first circuit around Rome was taken at a steady pace, and the main pack was still all togother. However, as Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) attacked out the peleton on the descent to the Italian City, the pace was upped by favourites' teams.



On the second lap, Nick Nuyens (Garmin) and Oscar Gato (Lampre) made their move, and quickly caught and passed the lead group. It was looking like the victory would come from one of these two.



Any hopes of a respectable result rested on Caleb. The young Australian was riding well, and took off in pursuit as the chase groups splitered into ones and twos.



Back at the front, victory goes to the Nuyens, as he outsprints Gatto on the line. Over 9 minutes later, Ewan crossed the line in a fantastic 9th place. The biggest news though was the number of riders who didn't finish the race. Out of the 197 starts, only 45 riders finished within the time limit!

1	Nick Nuyens	Garmin - Sharp	4h59'36
2	Oscar Gatto	Lampre - Merida	s.t.
3	Luca Paolini	Katusha Team	+ 2'40
4	Salvatore Puccio	Sky Procycling	+ 3'18
5	Sébastien Minard	AG2R La Mondiale	s.t.
6	Thomas De Gendt	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step	+ 6'43
7	Grega Bole	Vacansoleil - DCM	s.t.
8	Gaël Malacarne	La Pomme Marseille	s.t.
9	Caleb Ewan	Bianchi Factory Team	+ 8'16
10	Fumiyuki Beppu	Team Nippo - De Rosa	s.t.

The build up to Tierreno-Adriatico continues in Trieste, at the Trofeo Zssdi. A hilly one-day race, that should favour more of a climber than a Puncher style sprinter, due to the climb to the finish.



Bianchi come to the race with two leaders in good form. Estaban Chaves has recently won in Langkawi, whilst Moreno Moser took a fantastic victory in Strade Bianche.

Adam Yates, who was Estaban's right-hand man in Malaysia, comes into the squad, along with Owain Doull who will ride in a more free role.

Marco Frapporti give the team another option if it is a larger group approaching the line, whilst Davide Villella, Simon Yates and Matej Mohoric will provide support to our Leaders.


Sponsor Goal: N/A
Team Goal: Top 5
Best Result: N/A

Owain Doull was part of an early 3 man breakway that formed just after the start of the stage. Further attacks would mean that the break would eventually consist of 9 riders, and they worked well together to open up a good gap.



A number of team set themselves up on the front of the peleton, and worked at bringing the gap to the lead group down. On the flatter sections, the break's lead peaked at 7'22", but with the climbs in sight, it was down to less than 3 minutes.



As the pressure was upped, and the break was pulled back, a group of 8 split off the front. Four of the riders where from Bianchi, and we held a good advantage over the others.



With two cards to play on the final climb, Chaves was the first to kick first, and he opened a gap over those behind him.



Estaban was riding well, and only Battaglin (Champion System) and Felline (Androni) were able to react. Moser was giving chase, battling for a podium spot himself.



Over the top of the climb, Estaban kicked again, and there was no chance of Battaglin catching him. Behind, Moser was on the tail of Felline, and looking like he might steal a podium!



The little Colombian takes the win! His attack was deadly, and showed that he is in some great form ahead of Tirreno-Adriatico. Battaglin rolled home in second, and Moreno was able to take home a great third place! Another fantastic race for the Bianchi team.

1	Esteban Chaves	Bianchi Factory Team	2h57'09
2	Enrico Battaglin	Champion System Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
3	Moreno Moser	Bianchi Factory Team	s.t.
4	Fabio Felline	Androni Giocattoli - Venezuela	s.t.
5	Ivan Rovny	Ceramica Flaminia - Fondriest	s.t.
6	Arkaitz Durán	Efapel - Glassdrive	s.t.
7	Alexandre Geniez	UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
8	Lasse Bøchman	Christina Watches - Onfone	s.t.
9	Louis Meintjes	Tirol Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Sergey Firsanov	RusVelo	s.t.

After many weeks, Bianchi Factory Team are delight to announce that their Wildcard Application for the first Grand Tour of the Year, il Giro d'Italia, has been granted.

Starting in Northern Ireland on 9th May, Hoyle's men will be wanting to do the Italian Race, and the team's fans, proud and will look to Estaban Chaves and Moreno Moser in their fight for GC and Stage Honours.

Colombia, Orica-GreenEdge and Vini Fantini were the other 3 teams who will take the start line in Belfast.

the_hoyle wrote:
@sutty: They have! Strade Bianche is the best result so far this season given the startlist

Following the announcement of the Giro d'Italia wildcard accepted, Bianchi Factory Team have been able to finalise their racing schedule for the month of April and May.

Date	Race	Country	Status
Apr
1-5	Circuit Sarthe-Pays de la Loire	France	2.1
14	Amstel Gold Race	Netherlands	WT
15-19	Giro del Trentino	Italy	2.HC
21-28	Presidential Tour of Turkey	Turkey	2.HC
28	GP Industria & Artigianato	Italy	1.1
28	Giro di Toscana	Italy	1.1
.
May
4-26	Giro d'Italia	Italy	WT
5	Circuito del Porto-Trofeo Arvedi	Italy	1.2
9-10	Vuelta Asturias	Spain	2.1
12-19	Amgen Tour of California	United States	2.HC
12	Rund um Koln	Germany	1.1

The races selected will give us some exciting racing in the coming months, and everyone associated with the team can't wait to carry on the great work so far this season.

Our current run of form has put us in good stead as we head into our ever first WorldTour race - the Tirreno-Adriatico. It will be a moment to savour for our riders, and we will working hard to get a good result from the race.

Estaban Chaves will lead the side in his battle for the GC honours. His support is strong, with Davide Villella and Adam Yates riding as Super Domestiques. Moreno Moser will also ride for Estaban, however, he will have his own targets in the race.

In the Sprints, Caleb Ewan will lead the line, and his lead-out train will be by the Italian pair of Marco Canola and Marco Frapporti. Swedish TT specialist Tobias Ludvigsson will be the pilot in the train, and completes the 8-man team in Italy.


Sponsor Goal: Stages Win(s)
Team Goal: Stage Win(s) / Top 10 GC / KoM Jersey
Best Result: N/A