Can Wilier Triestina derail Monsalve’s Qinghai Lake title defence?

Reigning Tour of Qinghai Lake champion Yonathan Monsalve was a man of few words following the opening ceremony in Xining, China on Saturday.

The 29-year-old Venezuelan rider for the local Qinghai Tianyoude Cycling Team told Eurosport he is all set for a successful title defence despite acknowledging there is a target on his back.

“My condition is very good and I want to win the competition,” he said after fulfilling his ceremonial obligations a day prior to the start of the race’s 17th edition.

Monsalve, who failed to win a stage last year but recorded three top four finishes including a runner-up on Stage 3 behind Belarusian Stanislau Bazhkou of the Minsk Cycling Club.

General classification (GC) riders with sights set on Monsalve’s jersey include new Mitchelton-BikeExchange signee Drew Morey (AUS), formerly of the Terengganu Cycling Team, Monkey Town Continental Team’s Antonio Santoro (ITA), who served a six-month ban and had all of his results voided including his fifth overall after returning a positive test due to incorrect medication provided by his team, as well as former WorldTour rider and 2015 solo stage winner Ilia Koshevoy (BLR) of Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia.

“I am happy to come back to this race because I like altitude, so I have good hopes for this race,” the former Lampre-Merida rider told Eurosport regarding the race’s average elevation of 2500 metres with a spike of 4200m. “I have good preparation in altitude in Italy before this race.

“I think it’s very important to stay 10 days — two weeks — before this race at altitude.”

The 27-year-old Belarusian, who spent two full seasons with Lampre following a stagiaire role in 2014, feels the 13-stage race could be decided before the halfway mark.

While as many as eight or nine stages could be contested in a sprint finish of the “highest altitude bike race in the world,” the 36-year-old team captain and 2006 Milan-San Remo winner Filippo Pozzato (ITA) is confident of Wilier Triestina’s roster despite the absence of team sprinter Jakub Mareczko and his lead-out man Eugert Zhupa.

This squad not only includes climber Koshevoy, but also 24-year-old Italian sprinter Luca Pacioni, who won a stage at Le Tour de Langkawi in March, as well as finished third on points.

“We have one rider for the sprint and one rider for the climb — for the attack,” explained Pozzato. “I think we have a good team for the entirety of the race.”

Other riders on the Wilier roster include Italians Simone Bevilacqua, Luca Raggio and 2017 Tour of Hainan winner (2.HC) Jacopo Mosca, as well as Austrian Sebastian Schönberger.