No Philippe Gilbert but many of Sunday’s animators as the race returns after five-year absence
Philippe Gilbert himself might not be riding - since his BMC Racing Team is not on the list of attendees - but tomorrow’s Milano-Torino peloton will feature many of the key riders from Sunday’s World championship race. Gilbert’s Belgian teammates Kevin De Weert and Dries Devenyns - who did so much work to control the race’s breakaways - will be part of the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, while key animators, Spaniard Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank), Italians Vincenzo Nibali and Moreno Moser (both Liquigas-Cannondale), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-ISD) and Luca Paolini (Katusha), and Frenchman Maxime Bouet (AG2R La Mondiale) will all be present in the race.
Danilo Di Luca (Acquq & Sapone) will wear number one, as the last winner of the race - when he was a Liquigas rider - and, having enjoyed a run of late-season form, will be among the favourites.
This will be the first edition of the historic race since 2007, as it has been beset with financial problems since; the race used to take place in early March, and was a useful warm up for Milano-Sanremo, but has moved to late in the season, and will be a good preparation race for il Lombardia.
"The Milano-Torino returns after a few years’ absence,” said Omega Pharma-Quick Step directeur sportif Davide Bramati. “The parcours is interesting, and the finale will be a double climb on the Colle di Superga, the symbolic hill of the city of Turin. The finish is located right at the top of Colle di Superga, which will determine the winner of the race.
“As far as we’re concerned, our objective is to stay with the best and try to obtain a good result,” he explained. “Some riders are coming off the World Championships, but this definitely won’t be a problem on a physical level. The race will be very important as well for the athletes who will also ride in the Giro di Lombardia next Saturday.”
The importance of such a tough race is not lost on Lampre-ISD directeur sportif Fabrizio Bontempi, whose top rider Damiano Cunego will be aiming for a record fourth Lombardia victory at the weekend.
"Milano-Torino will be an important test for Damiano Cunego,” Bontempi explained. “He'll check his form in view of Il Lombardia. We rely also on [Diego] Ulissi, who'll try to get himself a top result his season. Don't forget [Przemyslaw] Niemiec and [Winner] Anacoa, who both raced in the World Championship and they're ready to be competitive outsiders.”
ProContinental teams aiming for end of season flourish
As well as the WorldTour teams, the race - with its 1.HC status - will be an important one for the Professional Continental teams in their race for points in the European Tour.
“It’s good to see our riders are still so motivated,” said Colombia-Coldeportes directeur sportif Valerio Tebaldi. “The riders who went to the Worlds are willing to leave their mark before the season is over, while their teammates used the 9 days without racing to do some good focused training with directeur sportif Oliverio Rincon
“They are aware of the importance of this season finale, and they are looking forward to it.”
Colnago-CSF Inox has enjoyed its accustomed level of success this season, with Domenico Pozzivivo’s Giro del Trentino victory and Giro d’Italia stage win its highlights. Like all Italian teams, it will be extra motivated to perform in the historic semi-classic as it heads towards il Lombardia.
"It’s a race where we will be called to give our best,” said directeur sportif Roberto Reverberi, “and where we want to arrive with our rider that are in form at the moment. The spirit that animate our team will be one: compact and concentrated.”
Utensilnord-Named’s season has been less successful, with far fewer victories - or opportunities - than its more famous compatriots. The Italian team will go into the race with its usual ambition however, and will hope to be part of the action when the race begins.
"I expect a very tight race, that will be controlled from the very first pedal strokes,” said directeur sportif Marco Tabai. “We will aim to animate the race from the first kilometre, trying to get ourselves into the various escape attempts. I am convinced that the Superga will become the focal point of the race and I'm confident of being able to be present.”
Milano-Torino (1.HC) Start List
Acqua & Sapone
1. Danilo Di Luca (Ita)
2. Massimo Codol (Ita)
3. Paolo Ciavatta (Ita)
4. Carlos Betancur (Col)
5. Andrea Masciarelli (Ita)
6. Alessandro Donati (Ita)
7. Francesco Taborre (Ita)
Lampre-ISD
11. Winner Anacona (Col)
12. Matteo Bono (Ita)
13. Damiano Cunego (Ita)
14. Marco Marzano (Ita)
15. Manuele Mori (Ita)
16. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol)
17. Matthew Lloyd (Aus)
18. Diego Ulissi (Ita)
Liquigas-Cannondale
21. Ivan Basso (Ita)
22. Eros Capecchi (Ita)
23. Damiano Caruso (Ita)
24. Mauro Da Dalto (Ita)
25. Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Ita)
26. Moreno Moser (Ita)
27. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita)
28. Christiano Salerno (Ita)
Astana
31. Borut Božič (Slo)
32. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita)
33. Tanel Kangert (Est)
34. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe)
35. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz)
36. Simone Ponzi (Ita)
37. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita)
38. Fabio Aru (Ita)
Omega Pharma-Quick Step
41. Jérôme Pineau (Fra)
42. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra)
43. Dries Devenyns (Bel)
44. Kevin De Weert (Bel)
45. Michal Golas (Pol)
46. Serge Pauwels (Bel)
47. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel)
48. Marco Bandiera (Ita)
Garmin-Sharp
51. Thomas Dekker (Ned)
52. Murilo Fischer (Bra)
53. Nathan Haas (Aus)
54. Koldo Fernandez (Spa)
55. Peter Stetina (USA)
56. Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
57. Christophe Le Mével (Fra)
58. Steele Von Hoff (Aut)
Katusha
61. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita)
62. Joaquim Rodríguez (Spa)
63. Luca Paolini (Ita)
64. Alberto Losada (Spa)
65. Xavier Florencio (Spa)
66. Simon Spilak (Slo)
67. Yuriy Trofimov (Rus)
68. Daniel Moreno (Spa)
RadioShack-Nissan
1. Jan Bakelants (Bel)
2. Daniele Bennati (Ita)
3. George Bennett (NZl)
4. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
5. Haimar Zubeldia (Esp)
6. Ben Hermans (Bel)
7. Chris Horner (USA)
8. Oliver Zaugg (Swi)
Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank
81. Alberto Contador (Spa)
82. Chris Anker Sørensen (Den)
83. Mads Christensen (Den)
84. Manuele Boaro (Ita)
85. Rafal Majka (Pol)
86. Anders Lund (Den)
87. Bruno Pires (Por)
88. Matteo Tosatto (Ita)
FDJ-BigMat
91. Kenny Elissonde (Fra)
92. Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra)
93. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra)
94. Sandy Casar (Fra)
95. Thibaut Pinot (Fra)
96. Cedric Pineau (Fra)
97. Jussi Veikkanen (Fin)
98. Arthur Vichot (Fra)
AG2R La Mondiale
101. John Gadret (Fra)
102. Romain Bardet (Fra)
103. Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra)
104. Maxime Bouet (Fra)
105. Sylvain Georges (Fra)
106. Matteo Montaguti (Ita)
107. Julien Berard (Fra)
108. Jean-Christophe Péraud (Fra)
Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela
111. Franco Pellizotti (Ita)
112. Riccardo Chiarini (Ita)
113. Giairo Ermeti (Ita)
114. Fabio Felline (Ita)
115. Carlos José Ochoa (Ven)
116. Miguel Angel Rubiano (Col)
117. Emanuele Sella (Ita)
118. Jose Serpa (Col)
Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
121. Filippo Pozzato (Ita)
122. Matteo Rabottini (Ita)
123. Francesco Failli (Ita)
124. Luca Mazzanti (Ita)
125. Alessandro Proni (Ita)
126. Alfredo Balloni (Ita)
127. Leonardo Giordani (Ita)
128. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita)
Colombia-Coldeportes
131. Darwin Atapuma (Col)
132. Michael Rodriguez (Col)
133. Esteban Chaves (Col)
134. Fabio Duarte (Col)
135. Felipe Laverde (Col)
136. Robinson Chalapud (Col)
137. Dalivier Ospina (Col)
138. Jarlinson Pantano (Col)
Colnago-CSF Inox
141. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita)
142. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita)
143. Enrico Battaglin (Ita)
144. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita)
145. Angelo Pagani (Ita)
146. Roberto Giacobazzi (Ita)
147. Andrea Pasqualon (Ita)
148. Stefano Locatelli (Ita)
Utensilnord-Named
151. Paolo Bailetti (Ita)
152. Gabriele Bosisio (Ita)
153. Davide Mucelli (Ita)
154. Fabio Piscopiello (Ita)
155. Matteo Fedi (Ita)
154. Sergio Laganà (Ita)
155. Federico Rocchetti (Ita)
156. Patxi Vila (Spa)
Argos-Shimano
161. Koen de Kort (Ned)
162. Yann Huguet (Fra)
163. Matthieu Sprick (Fra)
164. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger)
165. Thierry Hupond (Fra)
166. Simon Geschke (Ger)
167. Thomas Damuseau (Fra)
168. Warren Barguil (Fra)
Team Idea
171. Luca Barla (Ita)
172. Andrea Palini (Ita)
173. Marco Frapporti (Ita)
174. Luca Dodi (Ita)
175. Ruslan Karimov (Uzb)
176. Aristide Ratti (Ita)
177. Christian Cominelli (Ita)
178. Alessandro Bisolti (Ita)