It's a familiar sight: Dutchman Lars van der Haar (Argos-Shimano) and American Katie Compton (Trek) cheer when it comes to day victories at the World Cup. The two can claim more than half of the victories at the previous stops of the season. Both are among the favorites for the sixth round of the series in Rome.
Last year, a strong Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) secured victory in the men's event. However, he is unlikely to be able to repeat it this year, as he had to struggle with a persistent cold at the turn of the year. Rather, the world champion Sven Nys (Crela-AA Drink), for whom success would be the 50th World Cup victory of his career, the Italian champion Marco Aurelio Fontana (Cannondale) and of course Van der Haar can be considered candidates here. One can also be curious about Philipp Walsleben (BKCP-Powerplus), who is currently second in the World Cup and who has a strong teammate at his side in Niels Albert.
In the women's category, the day's win should again go to Compton. However, Marianne Vos (Rabobank), Hanka Kupfernagel (Shimano) and Nikki Harris (Young Telenet-Fidea) will try to deny her success.
The live stream for the race starts around 13:20 p.m.