National champions Mavi Garcia and Ella Wyllie will spearhead a climbing-focused Liv AlUla Jayco squad at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda on Sunday.
New Zealander Wyllie is making her debut at the race, while Spaniard Garcia has five previous appearances at the race. With multiple leaders, the team is aiming to cover off all eventualities in a contest that could equally see a solo finisher, or a small group go to the line.
There have been several important changes to the route of Trofeo Alfredo Binda for the 2024 season that ensure the climbs are much more tightly packed.
An early section of flatter road has been removed, which means that the first major ascent will come earlier in the race. A fifth local lap has also been added at the end, giving the riders an extra two climbs to negotiate on the way to the finish line.
Caroline Andersson will be looking to build upon her strong ride at Strade Bianche earlier in March and take another solid result in Italy. Urška Žigart, Ingvild Gåskjenn, and Amber Pate provide some additional firepower in the engine room of the squad as the team looks to animate the UCI WorldTour race.
Liv AlUla Jayco line-up:
Caroline Andersson (SWE)
Mavi Garcia (SPA)
Ingvild Gåskjenn (NOR)
Amber Pate (AUS)
Ella Wyllie (NZL)
Urška Žigart (SLO)
Ella Wyllie
“I’m really looking forward to the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. We have got a lot of cards to play as a team with a really strong line up. I’ve never raced this race before, but it will be great to draw on the experience of the team. I expect that the course change will make it even more exciting to watch.”
Shawn Clarke (Sport Director)
“The course is very similar to last year, but they’ve removed part of the flat loop. There’s a fairly major climb coming into the local laps, where we saw a lot of splits early in the race, which now comes even earlier so we need to be ready to race right from the start. The are now five local laps, which will be tough. In the past, we’ve seen the race play out between a mixture of classics riders and climbers but this year we’re planning on having more of a climbing race due to the extra elevation. Sometimes a small group can come to the line, but it’s also a good course for attacking riders. Our plan will be to cover off both options and have a plan for however the race develops.
A lot of the riders on the roster were in Strade Bianche. Ella had a bad day there, but we know she’s in really good form. Mavi had what she considered as a bad day for her legs, but she still had a really good result, so that’s really promising. Caroline also seems to be getting better with every race that she goes to this year so we’re really excited to have her. We saw Amber do a lot of good teamwork in Strade so we’re expecting that from her again. Ingvild was at an altitude training camp before the race, so we’re excited to see what kind of form she brings and Urška on any climbing course is always super useful and super strong. With this team, we’re pretty excited about having a good race.”
Photo: Kristof Ramon
