Cancellara, Sagan among riders confirmed for Milano-Sanremo

Former winner Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Tour de France green jersey Peter Sagan (Cannondale) are among the riders confirmed for the 105th Milano-Sanremo, which takes place Sunday. The season’s first major classic will follow a sprinter-friendly route that will bypass the Le Mànie climb and the Pompeiana, which was to debut this year before mudslides forced organizers to skip the ascent.

“Milano-Sanremo has always been one of the most important goals of my season. I plan to succeed at this race and ready myself for the next — the upcoming Belgian classics. The route without Pompeiana climb makes the race different, but I’m not worried. This change effects everyone. To win Milano-Sanremo, you need first to be at your top condition and try to own the race with your team. That is my goal,” Sagan said in a press release. “Last year’s experience was an important lesson for me — it showed me how unpredictable and hard this classic can be. For this reason, there is a long list of contenders. I’ll be satisfied at the end of the race if I’ve done whatever is possible to do my best and win.”

Defending champion Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka), and former winners Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), and Simon Gerrans and Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) are expected to be among the race’s 200 starters.

Riders confirmed for 2014 Milano-Sanremo

Ag2r La Mondiale
Davide Appollonio (ITA)
Guillaume Bonnafond (FRA)
Steve Chainel (FRA)
Patrick Gretsch (GER)
Hugo Houle (CAN)
Lloyd Mondory (FRA)
Matteo Montaguti (ITA)
Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA)

Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
Enrico Battaglin (ITA)
Nicola Boem (ITA)
Marco Canola (ITA)
Sonny Colbrelli (ITA)
Marco Coledan (ITA)
Filippo Fortin (ITA)
Stefano Pirazzi (ITA)
Nicola Ruffoni (ITA)

Belkin
Jos van Emden (NED)
Jonathan Hivert (FRA)
Rick Flens (NED)
Tom Leezer (NED)
Bauke Mollema (NED)
Lars Petter Nordhaug (NOR)
Maarten Tjallingii (NED)
Robert Wagner (GER)

BMC Racing
Philippe Gilbert (BEL)
Thor Hushovd (NOR)
Taylor Phinney (USA)
Manuel Quinziato (ITA)
Michael Schär (SUI)
Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
Peter Velits (SVK)
Danilo Wyss (SUI)

Cannondale
Peter Sagan (SVK)
Moreno Moser (ITA)
Damiano Caruso (ITA)
Maciej Bodnar (POL)
Alessandro De Marchi (ITA)
Oscar Gatto (ITA)
Marco Marcato (ITA)
Alan Marangoni (ITA)

Europcar
Yukiya Arashiro (JPN)
Bryan Coquard (FRA)
Jérôme Cousin (FRA)
Tony Hurel (FRA)
Vincent Jérôme (FRA)
Bryan Nauleau (FRA)
Alexandre Pichot (FRA)
Björn Thurau (GER)

Giant-Shimano
Roy Curvers (NED)
John Degenkolb (GER)
Dries Devenyns (BEL)
Simon Geschke (GER)
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA)
Koen De Kort (NED)
Tom Stamsnijder (NED)
Albert Timmer (NED)

Movistar
José Joaquin Rojas (ESP)
Fran Ventoso (ESP)
Andrey Amador (CRC)
Dayer Quintana (COL)
Juanjo Lobato (ESP)
Adriano Malori (ITA)
Jasha Sütterlin (GER)
Enrique Sanz (ESP)

MTN-Qhubeka
Daniel Teklehaimanot (ERI)
Gerald Ciolek (GER)
Ignatas Konovalovas (LTU)
Jaco Venter (RSA)
Jay Thomson (RSA)
Kristian Sbaragli (ITA)
Louis Meintjes (RSA)
Merhawi Kudus (ERI)

Tinkoff-Saxo
Daniele Bennati (ITA)
Roman Kreuziger (CZE)
Nicolas Roche (IRL)
Michael Morkov (DEN)
Matteo Tosatto (ITA)
Karsten Kroon (NED)
Christopher Juul-Jensen (DEN)
Nicki Sörensen (DEN)

Trek Factory Racing
Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
Eugenio Alafaci (ITA)
Laurent Didier (LUX)
Fabio Felline (ITA)
Bob Jungels (LUX)
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)
Gregory Rast (SUI)
Hayden Roulston (NZL)