Now that the cobbled Classics have passed, HTC-Columbia will change out their lineup for spring for the Amstel Gold Race this Sunday. Austrian Bernhard Eisel was their man for the past several weeks, but the team will now look to spread the responsibilities over several riders in Holland's biggest Classic.
"Marco [Pinotti] and Maxime [Monfort] both did really well in the second half of the Basque Country," HTC-Columbia sports director Tristan Hoffman commented. "On top of that we've got the Velits brothers, Martin and Peter, who are in good shape, as well as Michael Albasini, our best finisher in Amstel last year just behind the lead break.
"It would be wrong to say HTC-Columbia have got a big single favourite for Amstel, but in a race as tricky and unpredictable as this one, sometimes it's not clever to base all your options on one rider."
Last year the American team went on the attack before the pre-race favorites started to break up the race.
"We tried to get in a breakaway that would anticipate the final attacks and make the biggest names react and play the game our way, and it almost worked," Hoffman recalls. "I'll expect our riders to be equally flexible in their approach on Sunday."
Hoffman says the hilly one-day Classic will be decided in the final kilometers: "The real action starts on the Eyserbosweg climb when we go over it the second time, less than 30 kilometres from the finish. After that, you can't afford to make any mistakes."
HTC-Columbia for the 2010 Amstel Gold Race:
Michael Albasini (Swi); Craig Lewis (USA); Tony Martin (Ger); Maxime Monfort (Bel); Marco Pinotti (Ita); Vicente Reynes (Spa); Martin Velits (Svk); Peter Velits (Svk)