Christian Scaroni is the man of the moment for Astana. Should Pogacar watch out for him in the Strade Bianche?

Scaroni has only finished outside the top five three times in eleven race days this season. Read that sentence again before we continue. In the Challenge Mallorca, he finished fifth, second, second, and seventeenth in four Spanish one-day races. He then finished third in the Tour of Murcia before claiming his first victory as a team cyclist in the Classic Var. That boosted his confidence because he won a stage and the GC of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes against an unstoppable Bahrain Victorious.

A week later, he finished fifth in the Faun-Ardèche Classic, and a day later, his legs were clearly not quite as fresh as they had been, finishing in 44th place in the Faun Drome Classic. Outrageous! Scaroni moved on to the Trofeo Laigueglia, where he distanced everyone, together with Ayuso, but saw two other men, Neilson Powless (EF) and Michael Storer (Tudor), return for a sprint of four. Ayuso was too fast, but Scaroni did manage to finish second.

The Italian, who rides for XDS-Astana, which always performs exceptionally well, has one more big event on the menu on Saturday before he apparently takes some rest and then heads to Milan-Turin and the Coppi e Bartali. How well can Scaroni perform in Strade Bianche against the big star Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG? "I have mixed feelings. It's a shame to finish second. My legs are performing well; I must be satisfied with this result. The strongest won today," he said after the Trofeo Laigueglia, sounding like a man in top form disappointed at Cycling Pro.

Scaroni realizes that he must take advantage of this form. "Motivation is high within the team, and we performed well again today. Now, I am focusing on Saturday, an important goal for us as a team. After that, we will see. This form cannot last forever. After the Coppi e Bartali, my program will take a break to prepare for the Giro d'Italia."