UAE Team Emirates has confirmed its line-up for the upcoming Strade Bianche and Paris-Nice WorldTour racesas it continues its European Spring campaign.
On Saturday 6th March seven riders will line up for the 15th edition of the Strade Bianche which starts and ends in Siena (181km). The beautiful route through central Italy is packed with short, steep hills and 11 different sectors of white Tuscan gravel roads, after which the iconic race is named.
Sports Directors Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Manuele Mori (Ita) and team manager Matxin Fernandez will lead the team:
-Valerio Conti (Ita)
-Davide Formolo (Ita)
-Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor)
-Marco Marcato (Ita)
-Tadej Pogacar (Slo)
-Jan Polanc (Slo)
-Aleksandr Riabushenko (Bel)
Davide Formolo: “Last year I had an amazing day on the bike here and managed to finish second and climb on the podium. It was a really special feeling, also because it was shortly after the lockdown. It’s a race that suits me well and one I can do well in. I’ll start with less pressure this year as my condition is still building. Tadej is in good form at the moment and the idea is that we both make it deep into the final with as many teammates as possible. It can be an unpredictable race but that can play to our advantage on Saturday.”
On Sunday 7th March Alexander Kristoff will be back in action at Paris-Nice with an eye on the race’s sprint opportunities. The team goes into the eight-day race with a dynamic squad who will focus on stage victories; with Trentin and Kristoff leading the sprints and De La Cruz and Costa looking for opportunities in the hills. The seven-man team will be led by sports directors Fabio Baldato (Ita) and Fabrizio Guidi (Ita).
Paris – Nice
-Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor)
-David De La Cruz (Spa)
-Rui Costa (Por)
-Rui Oliveira (Por)
-Alexander Kristoff (Nor)
-Brandon McNulty (Usa)
-Matteo Trentin (Ita)
Alexander Kristoff: “There are a few stages here which suit me well. I last won a stage here 6 years ago so to repeat it would be nice. The main goal aside from wins will be to improve the shape ahead of the classics. Between myself and Trentin we are confident we can have a great spring campaign for the team. For the GC we will be here with De La Cruz and McNulty, but our team is full of guys who could potentially win stages.”
