After the most successful start to the season in the history of the team, taking no less than 13 victories so far, Israel – Premier Tech is ready to take on the first Monument race of the year, Milano-Sanremo, on Saturday.
“We’ve got a pretty clear leader in Corbin [Strong],” sports director Steve Bauer explains. “He’s in good shape, he’s climbing well and he showed in Tirreno-Adriatico that he is where he needs to be. When you’re in the hunt for wins on a couple of occasions there, it means you have good legs. I believe he’s ready.”
Strong has indeed had a good start to the season with several top results, most recently with his third place on stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico. Last year, the 23-year-old Kiwi made his debut in Milano-Sanremo and this year, he’s eager to come back and fight for a strong result.
“Milano-Sanremo has always been a race that excited me. I enjoyed my first edition in 2023,” he says. “This year, I’m hoping to learn from the mistakes I made last year and fight for a result with a strong IPT team. Tirreno-Adriatico was great preparation with some long days and technical finishes. I feel familiar with the European style of racing and I’m ready for the first Monument of the season.”
To help Strong get a chance to sprint with the best, IPT sends an experienced team to support him and Bauer has the tactic ready.
He adds: “We need to maximize the number of riders we have in front over the Cipressa climb and then bring Corbin to Poggio in a good place. It’s not rocket science really. We just need to put him where he needs to be and we’ve got experienced guys like [Simon] Clarke, [Jakob] Fuglsang, [Hugo] Houle and [Guillaume] Boivin to do that. Then it’s up to Corbin to follow them and fight for a top result in the end.”
IPT at Milano-Sanremo:
Riders: Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Simon Clarke (AUS), Jakob Fuglsang (DEN), Hugo Houle (CAN), Riley Sheehan (USA), Corbin Strong (NZL), Ethan Vernon (GBR)
Sports Directors: Steve Bauer & Rene Mandri
