San Luis Obispo, California – 15th April, 2011 – Following his recent victory in the King of the Mountains competition in the Tour of the Basque Country in Spain, HTC-Highroad climber, Michael Albasini heads to the Amstel Gold Race as the team’s leader for the first of the Ardennes Classics.

“Michael’s shown he’s in top condition and we expect he’ll be up there with the other favorites when the race enters its decisive phase,” says HTC-Highroad sports director, Valerio Piva.

“He’s definitely got the form, and he knows all the Ardennes Classics well, and we’ll make sure he’s well-protected in the first part of the race.”

“He’s shown he’s good on these kinds of climbs, and after the Basque Country we’re very optimistic.”

“The rest of the HTC-Highroad team will be either looking after Michael or seeing what they can do in early breaks.”

“We’ve not got the strongest Amstel squads this year, but this is a good chance for everybody to try and get in moves and take the initiative.”

HTC-HighRoad for the Amstel Gold Race: Michael Albasini (Swi), Matt Brammeier (Ire); John Degenkolb (Ger); Caleb Fairly (USA); Jan Ghyselinck (Bel); Craig Lewis (USA); Danny Pate (USA); Marco Pinotti (Ita).