Corbin Strong to lead IPT in Milano-Sanremo
The first Monument race of the season, Milano-Sanremo, takes place on Saturday and IPT is lining up with a strong team ready to support Corbin Strong in the Italian Classic.
“We have got a lot of depth in the team with riders capable of performing really well in this race”, sports director Sam Bewley says. “We bring strong riders for each crucial part of the race and then we’ve got Corbin [Strong] as a good leader for the final. Overall, the team is in really good shape.”
Milano-Sanremo is often referred to as the easiest Classic to finish but the hardest one to win. Despite its length of 289 km, it’s usually not until the final 30 km that the race really opens up as the riders take on the two final climbs, the Cipressa and the Poggio, with only 5.5 km remaining from the top of the latter. Saving energy and getting the positioning into these climbs right will be key.
Sam Bewley explains: “In an ideal world, we’ll get a few guys over the Cipressa to be there with Corbin and support him leading into the Poggio. We know that positioning into Poggio is really important so ideally we’ll get that right and hopefully get one rider over the top together with Corbin. It’s going to be hard to follow the likes of Van der Poel and Pogacar and those guys so we just have to try and get Corbin over the top in the first main group and see how things play out in the final. Ideally, it’ll come down to a sprint within a reduced group with Corbin in there to fight for a top result.”
Lining up for his third Milano-Sanremo, 24-year-old Strong is eager to improve last year’s 17th place in one of his favorite races.
“I’m really excited. Milano-Sanremo is one of the nicest races on the calendar. I’ve had a long training period since Tour Down Under so my shape is good and I’m hungry to show the hard work I’ve put in. We have a strong and motivated lineup for Saturday and I’m excited to race with this group in the first Monument of the year. For me, it’s all about being in the right position for the Cipressa and the Poggio in order to give myself a chance to sprint for the win from a reduced group.”
IPT Lineup for Milano-Sanremo
Riders: Simon Clarke (AUS), Pier-André Côté (CAN), Marco Frigo (ITA), Jakob Fuglsang (DEN), Matîs Louvel (FRA), Jake Stewart (GBR), Corbin Strong (NZL).
Sports Directors: Sam Bewley (NZL), Dror Pekatch (ISR), Francesco Frassi (ITA).
