Ag2r-La Mondiale hope to continue their excellent recent run of succes when they line up for Sunday's first monument, Milan-Sanremo. Paris-Nice winner Carlos Betancur won't be in attendance as the team will focus on its sprinters Davide Appollonio and Lloyd Mondory and Rinaldo Nocentini and Matteo Montaguti for the late attacks.
Ag2r-La Mondiale have had an excellent start to their WorldTour season, with Carlos Betancur winning two stages as well as the overall in the recent Paris-Nice. In addition to that strong showing, Jean-Christophe Peraud and Domenico Pozzovivo are both sitting in the top 10 in Tirreno-Adriatico with just a short final time trial still to come.
The team hope to continue their momentum in Milan-Sanremo but they won't bring their in-form Betancur to the race. Scheduled to start the Volta a Catalunya on Monday, the team will focus on their sprinters after the course saw a late change that removed the Pompeiana climb and again tipped the balance back towards the fast finishers.
By finishing 2nd in Roma-Maxima, Davide Appollonio has proved that he has the form to both survive the late climbs of Cipressa and Poggio and produce a solid sprint in the end. He will be supported by Lloyd Mondory who also packs a solid sprint and will be capable of a result should th Italian fail.
For the many attacks in the finale, the team have Rinaldo Nocentini, Matteo Montaguti and Steve Chainel while Patrick Gretsch, Hugo Houle, and Guillaume Bonnafond will be expected to play a domestique role as well as potentially join the early breakaway.
Ag2r for Milan-Sanremo:
Davide Appollonio, Guillaume Bonnafonde, Steve Chainel, Patrick Gretsch, Hugo Houle, Lloyd Mondory, Matteo Montaguti, and Rinaldo Nocentini
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