T-Mobile will stand behind Luxembourger Kim Kirchen, who recently finished second in Tirreno-Adriatico, as their hope for Milan-San Remo. "Kim is very much in form at the moment," said director sportif Valerio Piva, who is also counting on "a big all-round team performance."
Kirchen will be supported by Classics specialists Roger Hammond and Jakob Piil, but Bernhard Eisel will be there for a possible sprint finish. Young sprinter Gerald Ciolek is also on the team, but, according to Piva, "For Gerald, this race will be first and foremost about gaining experience."
T-Mobile for Milan-San Remo: Lorenzo Bernucci, Gerald Ciolek, Bernhard Eisel, Bert Grabsch, Roger Hammond, Kim Kirchen, Andreas Klier, and Jakob Piil.
Kirchen went head-to-head with the Astana squad in Tirreno-Adriatico, but neither Vinokourov nor Kloden will be taking the start in Milan. Astana is instead sending its one-day specialists to the race, with Matthias Kessler and Serguei Ivanov leading the list. Rene Haselbacher will be the team's hope in a sprint finish.
Astana for Milan-San Remo: Koen De Kort, Rene Haselbacher, Serguei Ivanov, Aaron Kemps, Matthias Kessler, Gennady Mikhailov, Dimitri Muravyev and Gregory Rast.
