Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter Sagan is ready to take the start.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) looking for more stage wins in Tour of Oman(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rafal Majka and Peter Sagan(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Ivan Basso, Alberto Contador, Peter Sagan and Rafal Majka on the front of the group (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter Sagan will be hoping to take his first victory of the 2015 season and his first win for Tinkoff-Saxo at the Strade Bianche race in Tuscany on Saturday.
The Slovakian has racked up a series of placings in his early season racing in Qatar and Oman but is still in search of his first victory since signing for the squad.
Sagan finished second in both the 2013 and 2014 editions of Strade Bianche. Last year Michal Kwiatkowski dropped Sagan on the final climb into Siena after the two distanced the rest of the peloton after the testing sections of dirt roads, while he took second after helping teammate Moreno Moser to victory in 2013.
Sagan will have the support of local rider Daniele Bennati, Roman Kreuziger, Maciej Bodnar, Manuele Boaro, Christopher Juul-Jensen, his brother Juraj Sagan and Matteo Tosatto.
"The Strade Bianche is a race that appeals to me because it has a very picturesque, scenic route. It is also ideal for my characteristics and qualities as a rider. I hope to do well in my first European race of 2015," Sagan said in a statement from the Tinkoff-Saxo team announcing its line-up for the race.
Italian directeur sportif Bruno Cenghialta will direct the team at Strade Bianche.
"Strade Bianche is a race that suits Peter. It lacks long climbs and in fact they're quite similar to the ones in the Northern Classics. In addition, Peter's background in mountain bikes favours him on the 45km of dirt tracks," he said.
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"Peter is definitely our leader at Strade Bianche. Most of our riders such as Bennati, Juul-Jensen and Kreuziger, who was fifth last year, have already participated in the Strade Bianche and are familiar with the route and the challenges."
Majka has leadership role for Paris-Nice
With Alberto Contador targeting Tirreno-Adriatico, Rafal Majka will lead Tinkoff-Saxo at Paris-Nice, which begins on Sunday with a prologue time trial south of the French capital.
The Polish rider finished fourth overall at the Tour of Oman after a strong ride on the stage to Green Mountain and will target overall success. He won two stages and the polka-dot jersey at last year’s Tour de France. He will be backed by new signing Robert Kiserlovski, Matti Breschel, Michael Mørkøv, Pawel Poljanski, Chris Anker Sørensen, Sergio Paulinho and Danish champion Michael Valgren at Paris-Nice.
Majka will clash with Fabio Aru (Astana), Rohan Dennis (BMC), Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep), Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) and Richie Porte (Team Sky).
"I've recovered well from Oman and I feel that my condition is improving, which is good since I'm here to fight for the GC," Majka said.
"We need to prepare mentally and be ready for some days of fighting. With wind, rain and sometimes snow in Northern France during the first stages, it's so important to stay at the front as the weather creates a nervous race."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
