Winner of this year’s Clasica Almeria, Leigh Howard will be the No. 1 asset for IAM Cycling at Milan-San Remo.  The Australian will have the full support of his teammates in order to arrive in the best possible position in the expected case of a bunch sprint on the Via Roma.

At 26 years old, the newcomer to the Swiss professional team recently managed to take a strong top-5 place in a bunch sprint last week at Tirreno-Adriatico. He has also made the effort of reconnoitering behind a scooter the last sixty kilometers of the race, which included climbing the Cipressa and Poggio ten days ago.

Mario Chiesa, IAM Cycling directeur sportif for La Primavera, has chosen to conduct a thorough reconnaissance of the final. On Thursday, the riders will be on the roads of the Ligurian coast to study and prepare for the various traps that the race will inevitably present.

Aleksejs Saramotins could very well repeat his brilliant performances from races like the 2013 Strade Bianche and the 2015 Paris-Roubaix.  At the Italian race over the white roads, Saramotins had escaped in the first hour of racing, and was reeled in by the favorites only in the last kilometers. He ended up taking fifth place that year.

“The difficulty of the race lies as much in its length as anything, and in the nervousness of the peloton as we approach the last major difficulty of the day,” Martin Elmiger, 37, explained before participating as road captain in his 11th Milan-San Remo.  “Positioning is essential, but everyone knows that, and wants to place his leader perfectly.  Personally, I am feeling good, and I hope to be worthy of the event.”

Line-up

Martin Elmiger (S)

Heinrich Haussler (Aus)

Reto Hollenstein (S)

Leigh Howard (Aus)

Roger Kluge (All)

Jarlinson Pantano (Col)

Vicente Reynes (Esp)

Aleksejs Saramotins (Let)