American ProTour team High Road believes its line-up for tomorrow's Gent-Wevelgem is capable of winning no matter how the race unfolds, despite Marcus Burghardt's absences from the team's roster. Burghardt is unable to defend his crown at the Belgian race as he's currently recovering from an injury.
"The good news is we’ve got eight riders with the ability to win in Gent-Wevelgem," said team manager Rolf Aldag. "We can cover a lot of different circumstances - if there’s a breakaway or if 30 or 40 riders reach the finish together, we should be there."
Aldag's confidence comes from having two former winners in Andreas Klier and George Hincapie on the squad's roster for the event. The team, formerly known as T-Mobile, will also have last year's runner up Roger Hammond and fellow Briton Mark Cavendish in its strong line-up.
"Mark’s two wins make him stand out as one of the favourites in a sprint, partly because of the way he won them so clearly," added Aldag. "But he’s not our only option by any means."
The former professional turned team director will also have ProTour leader Andre Greipel on his roster for tomorrow's race. Greipel claimed the white jersey after winning Australia's Tour Down Under in January.
"It’s a great race for us, one which I think suits the team’s character," added Aldag.
High Road for Gent-Wevelgem: Mark Cavendish, Bernhard Eisel, André Greipel, Roger Hammond, George Hincapie, Andreas Klier, Servais Knaven and Vicente Reynes.
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