Allrounder Marco Pinotto and sprinter Andre Greipel will be leading the Team HTC-Columbia assault on the 2010 Giro d'Italia, which starts on Saturday May 8th in Amsterdam before moving to Italy.

A recent stage winner in the 2010 Tour of Romandie, Pinotti says his first goal in his sixth Giro d'Italia start is to test his strength in the first week, where he will be targeting the opening prologue.

"My feelings are good, particularly at this point in the Tour of Romandie, and in the first week whilst we'll be looking for stage wins in the sprints with André, I'll be looking out for some good performances in the time trials. My form's a bit better than this time last year, and getting that early win in Romandie has made me more confident, too.

"The second part of the Giro is definitely more for climbers, but with age my endurance is steadily improving and I'll have to see how far I can go. The first big mountain top finish at the Terminillo [stage eight] will be the real test of whether I can stay high up on the overall classification without killing myself, or whether I have to switch to plan 'B'."

Like Pinotti, Greipel was a stage winner in the Giro back in 2008 and the German says he has the same initial objective in 2010.

"First I want a stage victory, nothing more than that, and afterwards we'll see about the points jersey. I don't rule it out, but I know it's a very hard third week with a lot of mountains and I will take it on the day by day. I've got a great team there for the leadouts, we'll be having a big effect on the final kilometres of all the flat stages."

Compared with when he started the Giro two years ago, Greipel says "I'm a very different rider. I've got a lot more self-confidence."

One thing hasn't changed, though, and that's Greipel's fondness for Italian culture. "I've been to Italy on holiday, I like the country and its people, and like all Germans, I love Italian food. Personally, I'm looking forward to a nice tomato mozzarella caprese."

Team HTC-Columbia for Tour of Italy: Michael Albasini (Swi); Matthew Goss (Aus); André Greipel (Ger); Adam Hansen (Aus); Craig Lewis (USA); Marco Pinotti (Ita); Frantisek Rabon (Cze); Vicente Reynes (Spa); Marcel Sieberg (Ger).

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for our 2010 Giro d'Italia coverage, which will include video highlights from each stage of the Giro. Also, check out www.universalsports.com/cycling for complete video coverage of each stage.