Major setback for De Lie: Belgian Champion skips Milan-Sanremo due to persistent illness

Lotto announced this on social media. "Arnaud De Lie will not take part in Milan-Sanremo. After struggling with illness in recent weeks, he does not feel 100% ready for La Primavera. He has decided to focus on Nokere Koerse (March 19) and GP Denain (March 20) as important preparation races for the rest of the spring classics." After that two races in Belgium and France, De Lie will start in the well-known Flemish one-day races, and later make the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix his big goal.

Nokere Koerse was already on his program, but the following French semi-classic is new. "The GP Denain has therefore been added to his schedule. The rest of his program remains unchanged," the Belgian team announced. Missing Milan-Sanremo is a major setback for De Lie, who had made the first Monument of the year a major goal. With a Mathieu van der Poel approach, he hoped to be able to shine.

This means the big favorites will face one less competitor at the start in Pavia. The two winners of the previous editions, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, will normally be there, as will Tadej Pogacar. But Filippo Ganna, eager to win in La Primavera, will also be there, as will Jonathan Milan, who, like his compatriot, feels he has a chance. Milano-Sanremo takes place on March 22.