MTN-Qhubeka given a chance to shine on dirt roads and Roma Maxima
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Moreno Moser (Cannondale) wins the 2013 Strade Bianche in style(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Moreno Moser(Image credit: Cannondale Pro Cycling)
An iconic image from the Strade Bianche race in Tuscany (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
From afar, Cancellara's Strade Bianche bike looks nearly identical to the current Madone, but it's actually an entirely new chassis(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
RCS Sport, the organisers of the Strade Bianche and Roma Maxima races have named the teams that will compete in the Italian one-day races on the weekend of March 8 and 9, with a mix of Italian and international WorldTour and Professional Continental teams securing places, including MTN-Qhubeka, who was overlooked for a wild card invitation to the Giro d'Italia.
18 teams of eight riders will contest the Strade Bianche race on the iconic dirt roads of the Chianti hills near Siena in Tuscany.
17 teams of eight riders will head to the Eternal City for Roma Maxima on Sunday March 9, with the same teams in action apart from Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Tinkoff-Saxo. Ag2r-La Mondiale secures a place after Blel Kadri won Roma Maxima last year.
There is no place for Net App–Endura. However the German team will ride Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo.
Most teams will field their Classics squad in both races, before heading to the Tuscan coast for the start of Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday March 12.
It appears that Orica-GreenEdge has again opted to miss the weekend of racing to focus on the opening team time trial stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.
Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale) are all expected to challenge for victory at Strade Bianche.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
