The 2016 UCI World Tour reaches its conclusion this weekend with the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia taking place on Saturday. Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka will be lining up at the 'Race of the Falling Leaves' for the 2nd time in the African Teams history after a debut appearance in 2013.

The 110th edition of Il Lombardia will see a slightly more difficult route presented to the peloton as an additional 1000m of climbing has been added to this year’s profile compared to previous editions. The Madonna del Ghisallo, Valcava, Selvino and the cobbled climb to Bergamo Alta among others, will ensure only the best climbers will be in contention for the victory.

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka aim to be one of the protagonists come Saturday and will have an exciting team ready to race from the front. Igor Anton, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Serge Pauwels, Omar Fraile, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Jaco Venter, Natnael Berhane and Kristian Sbaragli will be the riders contending for top honours.

Anton, Pauwels and Siutsou are each well suited to Saturday's course and they will be looking to be part of the action at the end of the 240km route. Boasson Hagen and Sbaragli may not be typically suited to the climbing nature of Saturday's course but the duo's strength cannot be underestimated as they have both proven throughout the year they can be in contention on the hillier races. Berhane, Venter and Fraile will form the backbone of the squad for the final Italian race of the year.

Igor Anton said:

"I am happy to return to this prestigious race because it is one of the cycling monuments. This will be my 5th participation in this race and I would like to finish the season well. I am in pretty good shape at the moment and this race is really hard and suits me well because there is a lot of climbs. I hope to be able to have a good race and do a good result. "