KIRCHEN TAKES WIN NUMBER 20 OF SEASON FOR HIGH ROAD MEN'S TEAM

KIRCHEN TAKES WIN NUMBER 20 OF SEASON FOR HIGH ROAD

Spain, 10 April 2008 - Kim Kirchen has sprinted to High Road Men’s twentieth victory of 2008 in stage four of the Tour of  the Basque Country, with team-mate Morris Possoni adding to the celebrations by crossing the line in second place.

After clinching stage two of the Basque Country, Thursday’s win was Kirchen’s second sprint
win in three days. Part of a day-long break, Possoni was close to victory himself, but at the last
moment Kirchen’s chase group caught and passed the Italian.

“It was clear that Morris group was going to be caught with 250 metres left to go and Kim
couldn’t brake and risk another rider going past him.” explained Valerio Piva, High Road’s
sports director. We didn’t want that to happen. Even if it’s a shame for Morris, it’s far better than Kim wins
than we lose the stage completely.”

“Kim is clearly in flying form,” he added. “Taking one win in a bunch sprint is sometimes written off as a
fluke, but if he takes two, particularly in a race as hard as the Tour of the Basque Country then
nobody can say that.”

Morale in High Road’s Basque Country line-up is high, but Piva said that despite the run of
success, the overall classification was not a major objective.

“We came here hoping for one stage win at most. Taking two is an added bonus, and a sure
sign Kim’s on form for the Ardennes Classics. We can go away more than satisfied with what
we’ve achieved so far.”

Piva added that Possoni’s near-victory was symptomatic of the strong rides the team’s younger
riders are doing.

“Tony Martin, Mark Cavendish and Edvald Boasson Hagen have done great rides so far this year,
and Morris has been in two long breaks here in the Basque Country as well.”

“He’s building up for the Tour of Romandie and Giro d’Italia, and these have been good tests
for him. A win would have been great, but it just couldn’t happen.”

“Personally, I don’t think any other team has such a strong group of promising new talent. And
we’ve got the results to prove it.”

Team High Road riders race on Giant's latest racing machine - The TCR Advanced SL