GENEVA - Italy's Alessandro Petacchi has a chance to seize the lead of the UCI's new Pro-Tour in the six-day Tour of Romandy cycling classic starting here Tuesday if he beats off a brace of his compatriots.
The fourth-placed Fassa Bortolo rider will face Davide Rebellin, currently number five in the Pro-Tour standing, and last year's Giro winner Damiano Cunego over the 656-kilometre race through western Switzerland.
Additional pep is expected from Mario Cipollini during the flatter first stages, backed by Liquigas-Bianchi teammate Stefano Garzelli, as well as past Romandy winners Paolo Savoldelli (2000) and Petacchi's team mate Dario Frigo (2001 and 2002).
Buoyed by their inclusion in International Cycling Union's (UCI) new championship, the organisers of the western Swiss race can count on a packed field of 20 teams and 160 riders to challenge Italian hopes of supremacy.
Spain's Liberty Seguiros team will also be fielding a strong line-up led by Joseba Beloki, the runner-up five years ago. A Spaniard has only won the Tour of Romandy once in its 57 year history (1975 - Francisco Galdos).
Following stage wins in Paris-Nice earlier this year, Fassa Bortolo's Swiss rider Fabien Cancellara is rated as the local favourite over the six stages, largely crowd-pleasing circuits through the same start and finish line.
Phonak's Santiago Botero of Colombia, Spaniard Oscar Pereiro and Swiss rider Alexandre Moos are expected to battle it out to determine team leadership in this summer's Tour de France in the absence of Tyler Hamilton.
Hamilton, the Romandy winner for the past two years, was thrown out of Phonak after being found guilty of doping last year.
Frenchmen David Moncoutie, Laurent Brochard and last year's young Tour de France revelation Thomas Voeckler will also be on the starting line.
The Tour de Romandy begins with a prologue in the city of Geneva, followed by two circuits around rolling hills or plateau, two mountain stages and a closing time trial in Lausanne next Sunday.
In the absence of the top three in the Pro-Tour standings and former Romandy stage winner Alexander Vinukourov, who won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic on Sunday, the Swiss race will favour team points.
The organisers say the major stages, which involve two or three laps through the start-finish line, have been designed to avoid big breakaways in order to prevent riders from lapping the race convoy.
04/25/2005 14:09 GMT