The Tinkoff-Saxo rider will be aiming to propel the new machine to victory after a series of disappointments in La Classicissima. He was narrowly denied victory in 2013 when Gerald Ciolek pushed past just before the line, and last year was no match for the power of Alexander Kristoff (Katusha).
With just one victory under his belt so far this year, Sagan has been playing down his chances for the win, but team owner Oleg Tinkov has been putting pressure on manager Bjarne Riis to get results. Riis will be in the car behind Sagan on Sunday.
Broken arm for Dehaes
Lotto Belisol rider Kenny Dehaes will be out of action for several weeks after breaking his arm in a crash during the Handzame Classic on Friday. The Belgian is uncertain what caused the crash, which happened 90km into the race.
An evaluation at the hospital in Herentals confirmed a fracture in the middle of his left forearm, and he went straight into surgery to repair the break this evening.
"The first fourteen days he’ll have to rest," said team doctor Servaas Bingé. "Then it’s waiting to see how the fracture heals before we can set a date for his comeback.”
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Riders to have a say in weather policy
A meeting between the representatives of the organisations of professional riders, teams and race organisers met today in Milan with the UCI to discuss a draft of an Extreme Weather Protocol for cycling events.
David Millar, representing the riders (CPA), Luuc Eisenga of the AIGCP teams organisation, and Jean-Françoise Pescheux and Mauro Vegni representing the race organisers discussed a draft, which will be submitted to the UCI for consideration for next season, according to the AFP.
The issue of weather came to a head when a critical stage of the 2014 Giro d'Italia that passed over the snow-covered Stelvio, was ineffectively neutralised by officials for the descent. Eventual race winner Nairo Quintana, seemingly unaware of the go-slow, attacked and put time into his rivals.
The North American riders formed a rider's union earlier this year (ANAPRC), with the Extreme Weather Protocol their top priority. The group met with the CPA and Millar before Paris-Nice.
Rodriguez to defend Volta a Catalunya title
Katusha’s leader Joaquim Rodriguez will defend his title in the upcoming Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, which starts on Monday, March 23. The Spaniard has been winless since his success there last season, but had a couple promising performances in Tirreno-Adriatico, where he was 13th overall, placing third on the snowy Terminillo mountain top finish on stage 5.
Katusha for Volta Ciclista a Catalunya: Joaquim Rodriguez, Giampaolo Caruso, Sergei Chernetckii, Pavel Kochetkov, Egor Silin, Iurii Trofimov, Eduard Vorganov and Anton Vorobyev.
