Peter Sagan will start his season in less than two weeks at the Tour de San Luis and he will be surrounded by a very strong team. The Italian squad has send most of its best riders to the Argentinean event where they will hope to start their season on a high note.

After ending his 2013 season by abandoning Il Lombardia, Peter Sagan is ready to kick off a new season that he hopes will see him finally win a big classic and defend his green jersey at the Tour de France. Like last year, the scene of his debut will be the Tour de San Luis where he will be the leader of the Cannondale team.

Sagan will travel to Argentina directly from a Cannondale presentation in the USA and like always, he will be eager to get his season off to a winning start. In 2013, his 22 victories were more than any other rider could achieve and he will be a strong candidate to repeat that feat.

Like last year's edition, the 2014 Tour de San Luis consists of three summit finishes, a time trial and three stages for the sprinters. While Sagan will not be in contention in the mountain stages and the race against the clock, he will be one of the favourites in the flat stages where the slightly uphill finishing straights suit him down to the ground. However, he will face a formidable opposition spearheaded by Mark Cavendish and the Slovakian will have to be at a high level right from the beginning to avoid leaving the race empty-handed like he did last year.

“Even though in 2013 I only scored placements, the Tour de San Luis was a great way to start the season, both for the level of competition as well as for the routes," he said. "The work performed with the team in December was positive. I set a foundation that in the upcoming months will allow me to race in top form.

"On paper there are several arrivals suited to my skills. This is the first race of the year and it isn’t easy to tell how competitive I can be. I’m definitely going to try to take advantage of every available occasion to start 2014 in the best way possible.”

In general, Cannondale has sent most of its A team to the Argentinean race. Moreno Moser and Damiano Caruso will both start their season in Argentina and offer the team a dual threat on the GC. Another option for the overall could be Dauphiné stage winner Alessandro De Marchi who took a massive step up during the 2013 season.

The team will be completed with new signings Marco Marcato and Oscar Gatto who are expected to play a crucial support role for Sagan in the classics and will start their cooperation with their leader right from the beginning.

Sports director Stefano Zanatta is hopeful that the team will be able to leave Argentina with solid results.

“Although we are only in the beginning of the season, we know that we will be ready at the starting line for the Tour de San Luis with an important formation,” he said. “There are various factors that could influence our performance in the debut, but we have riders fit for all the terrains in the race and we are going to try to make the most of our potential in order to obtain important results. Sagan will be our rider of reference but our strategy will be to support whoever will have the best chance at a result from day to day.”

The Tour de San Luis kicks off on January 20 and runs until January 26.

Cannondale for the Tour de San Luis:

Peter Sagan (SVK), Moreno Moser (ITA), Damiano Caruso (ITA), Alessandro De Marchi (ITA), Oscar Gatto (ITA), Marco Marcato (ITA).