Etixx-Quick-Step will have a number of cards to play in Sunday’s Milan-San Remo, with Mark Cavendish, Michal Kwiatkowski and Zdenek Stybar all scheduled to race.
The Belgian team looks set up for all eventualities, with Mark Renshaw in the squad to set Cavendish up if the race ends with a sprint finish. World champion Kwiatkowski and Strade Bianche winner Stybar should be in the mix if it comes down to a smaller bunch finish.
“We cannot hide that we have talent on our team and that we can be protagonists in each race situation, from ‘I Capi’ until the finish in Via Roma,” said Etixx manager Rolf Aldag. “We have guys like Stybar that can fire up the race, Kwiatkowski, who showed all his talent at Paris Nice, and Mark Cavendish, that from our group is the only one who has already won ‘La Primavera.’
Cavendish has made no secret of his desire to add another Primavera title to his palmares, having triumphed in 2009 and has already been out to San Remo to recon the route’s final stages.
Illness threatened to hamper his performances at Tirreno-Adriatico, but it was actually a mechanical problem that hindered his chances in the stage two sprint to Cascina.
>>> Mark Cavendish mechanical blamed for Tirreno crash (video)
In the deluge of the penultimate stage, the Manxman found himself out of contention for the final sprint and pulled himself out of the race, seeing Milan-San Remo rival Peter Sagan take his first win of the year.
Etixx-Quick-Step squad for Milan-San Remo: Fabio Sabatini, Julien Vermote, Mark Cavendish, Mark Renshaw, Michal Golas, Michal Kwiatkowski, Stijn Vandenbergh, Zdenek Stybar
