Sprinters Allan Davis and Angel Vicioso will lead the Liberty Seguros-Wurth team for this Saturday's Milan-San Remo, which will be the biggest one day race of the season to date. Although the team will not be confirmed until Thursday, team manager Manolo Saiz has announced that Davis and Vicioso will probably be supported by Jörg Jaksche (5th in Paris-Nice), Giampaolo Caruso, Michele Scarponi, Sergio Paulinho, Igor González de Galdeano and Carlos Barredo.
The last two riders are uncertain at the moment: Igor's abandon in Paris-Nice was not a good sign for MSR, and Barredo is in the final stages of recovery from a respiratory problem. As replacements, Saiz is considering Aaron Kemps, who rode very well in France, and Jan Hruska, who is doing the same in Italy.
If picked, Kemps could be a valuable ally for Davis, as the pair are good friends and live 100 metres from each other in Bundaberg, Australia (in the off-season, at least). "We train together all the time in Bundaberg," Kemps told Cyclingnews on Sunday. "I'm working for the team and I'm very happy with that."
Kemps finished third in Saturday's sixth stage of Paris-Nice after having been in the break all day. "It was planned to breakaway [on Saturday] and I was lucky. I couldn't go with them in that last move. I can't ask for much more: I got third today and fourth earlier in the week. It's been great.
"I'm trying to learn as much as I can. This year is an experience year. If I have a chance to get away, I'll take it. I want to improve my climbing - I want to be like Zabel," he smiled.
Liberty's Paris-Nice riders (Jaksche, González de Galdeano and/or Kemps) will travel to Italy this Thursday to join their teammates who are currently racing in Tirreno-Adriatico. Allan Davis is training at his European home in Oiarzun in Spain at the moment, and will also go to Italy on Thursday.
