Cavendish leads versatile Etixx-Quick-Step squad for Milan-San Remo

Etixx-Quick-Step will have multiple options for Sunday's Milan-San Remo including former winner Mark Cavendish.

Should a bunch sprint prevail at the conclusion of the 293km race, Etixx-Quick-Step will ride for fast-man Cavendish, who will have the support of Australian lead-out rider Mark Renshaw.

But the team's arsenal is well-stocked for other eventualities with recent Strade Bianche winner Zdenek Stybar and world champion Michal Kwiatkowski who finished second overall at Paris-Nice on Sunday.

"A team who values tradition like we do, it's always motivating for a race like this even if this time we are not the biggest favorite," said Etixx-Quick-Step development manager Rolf Aldag.

"Our strength is that we have so many riders at a high level. We cannot hide that we have talent on our team and that we can be protagonists in each race situation, from 'I Capi' until the finish in Via Roma. We have guys like Stybar that can fire up the race, Kwiatkowski, who showed all his talent at Paris Nice, and Mark Cavendish, that from our group is the only one who has already won 'La Primavera.'

"But Milano-Sanremo is an unpredictable race," Aldag continued. "That's what makes it special. At the start at least 100 riders dream about a victory in Via Roma. Also the weather conditions can drastically change the race. The objective in these days before the race is to recover as much as we can from the hard race we had in Paris-Nice and from a few days of bad weather at Tirreno-Adriatico. Especially Mark Cavendish, who was not 100 percent going into Tirreno because of a stomach virus. He will benefit from these days for a good recovery. The team is ready, and we look forward to next Sunday."

Etixx-QuickStep for Milan-San Remo: Mark Cavendish (GBR), Michal Golas (POL), Michal Kwiatkowski (POL), Mark Renshaw (AUS), Fabio Sabatini (ITA), Zdenek Stybar (CZE), Stijn Vandenbergh (BEL), Julien Vermote (BEL)

SBS will broadcast Milan-San Remo live from 2345 AEDT on SBS ONE on Sunday 22 March (Live Eastern States/SA) and streaming online here at Cycling Central.