Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team has announced the selection that will take part in Tirreno-Adriatico — seven stages in total covering 1054km from March 6 until March 12th. Tirreno-Adriatico features a TTT and a TT on Stage 1 and Stage 7, and also two mountain stages (Stage 4, Stage 5). Stage 4 is a tough, 14.5km summit finish to Prati Di Tivo. The final climb, which decided the winner of the 2012 edition, is a 7.1% average gradient.
"We will be there with a good team," Sports Director Davide Bramati said. "We have a good and complete team able to be protagonists in all situations of the race. It's a parcour we know, a bit like the parcour of last year. We have an objective in the TTT at the beginning of the race. We have a strong group of riders led by UCI World TT Champion Tony Martin, and Michal Kwiatkowski who is also good in the TT. But other riders of the team are also good time trialists. We will do our best even if the competitors are strong."
"Tony and Kwiatkowski will also be our main players for the final 9.2km TT in San Benedetto," Bramati continued. "In the middle of the race we will have Mark Cavendish with the possibility to do a good sprint, such as the final of the second stage in Indicatore. We will see after that, day by day. We will see some difficult finals. Prati di Tivo and the stage from Ortona to Chieti will be decisive stages for the GC. We will try to put one of our riders in the best situation to be at the top of the GC, so we really have two different goals. We want to go for the stages, but at the same time put one of our riders at the top of the GC. We have the potential and the credentials to do it."