Filippo Ganna admits to ‘wooden legs’, but believes Tirreno-Adriatico has him ready for Milan–San Remo

The clash in La Primavera on 21 March is Ganna’s first major target of the season. In the build-up to that day, he has already shown strong legs throughout the week in Tirreno, beginning with a near-traditional victory in the opening individual time trial.

Ganna was also present when the race went uphill, although he was beaten in a tough finale that ended in a sprint from a small group by Mathieu van der Poel. And that rider is expected to be one of his biggest rivals at Milan–San Remo.

Perhaps that was why Ganna went looking for some extra fatigue in stage six? No, he insisted afterwards in conversation with Eurosport. “It wasn’t the plan to be in the breakaway,” he admitted honestly.

“I had to neutralise attacks so that my teammates could make it into the move. Because of that, I ended up in the breakaway myself,” explained Ganna, who ultimately spent 113 kilometres at the front of the race.

“I tried to manage my effort as best as possible so I could reach the final lap and still help my teammates on the last climb. But the fatigue was clearly noticeable — the last two days have been intense.”

“It’s been an intense week, and now we’ll start thinking about recovery. We tried to work hard in the build-up to Tirreno and perform as well as possible here. I also wanted a personal result, and I managed that with the time trial win on the first day.” “I had wooden legs over the last two days, but everything is fine.”