Pedersen, Milan, and Stuyven aim to conquer Poggio: "If it comes down to a sprint, we’ll definitely go for him"

Some teams go to Milano-Sanremo with two key riders, but at Lidl-Trek, they theoretically have three: Mads Pedersen, Jonathan Milan, and former winner Jasper Stuyven. These men anticipate La Primavera in the preview of the German-American team.

Pedersen made a big impression in Paris-Nice, where he climbed uphill with the best. "I feel good, I feel good in the climbs. I think we need to take into account that at Paris-Nice the weather was bad when we were climbing which of course helps me a lot when it’s cold and rain like this. In the end, the climbing legs are definitely there and I’m happy with the shape I have right now. I’m not at all worried that my climbing improvement has come at the expense of my sprint. We also have to take into account that I was never a pure sprinter, so comparing me to Tim Merlier or Jasper Philipsen."

The Danish former world champion hopes his team can capitalize on the extra man. "The more numbers you have in a final, the better it is, so of course it would be super ideal for us if we have the numbers both at the top of Cipressa, and definitely after the Poggio. It’s nice to go into Sanremo with such a good team. It’s not a secret that Jonny is the fastest of us in a sprint, so if it is coming down to that then of course we sprint for Jonny."

"But, even if there is a group going over the Poggio together, we’ve seen before that people are sometimes not going for a sprint in the end, how we handle that is something we need to discuss in our pre-race meeting. For sure, if someone sees Jonny in the group at the bottom of the Poggio then they for sure don’t want to bring him to the finish line. Then hopefully me and Jasper will be there as well, and we will have to cover the guys who want to go before the finish. If it’s a sprint, it’s for Jonny."

They are also keeping Pogacar in mind for Lidl-Trek. "If Pogačar goes early it will make it a longer final. I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on Cipressa and wants to go long from there. It means for sure we will try to follow him and after Cipressa there would be a smaller group going into the Poggio. For me, I think it would be fine, the only bad part of it is that it’s Pogi, and if he goes already on the Cipressa, well normally when he goes you never see him again, but it could be different in this race because of the downhill and hopefully a good group who wants to work together from the Cipressa, all the way to the Poggio."

Pedersen will begin his list of classics with Milano-Sanremo. “I will do my absolute best in every race I’m starting at, no matter what it is. Winning a classic is special, no matter which one it is. The Monument is the dream scenario, but you can’t sit up if you win one. I didn’t work all through winter to just sit up if I win one of them. It’s full gas until Roubaix is done."

Milan ended Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday with a stage win and is therefore also ready for Milan-Sanremo. "After my crash in the third stage, I didn’t feel great over the climbs on the next couple of days. After the crash, I was scared especially about the elbow and ankle. I couldn’t give enough power to the left leg, especially in the minutes following the crash but, as I found out, nothing was broken, I decided to carry on and fortunately, by the end of the week I was feeling better, and I was happy with how the week ended, I feel confident again in my shape."

The sprinter has trained specifically for the Poggio effort. "I will try to do my best, try to stay in the group on the Poggio but I know they will ride very fast on all the climbs of the day. It will be very important to be there in the front. This week, I will make sure to do some good training, nothing crazy. I think Milano-Sanremo is like every other race, no one is there racing for only second place even if Tadej [Pogačar] is on the start line. You have already lost if you have that attitude, and we won’t be going in thinking that’s the only result possible especially with the group we have here."

Stuyven concludes. "I think at this moment my preparation has been very similar to last year’s, from winter training on until first races, till Opening Weekend. Even here, at Tirreno, I think it is the same for me like last year, at Paris-Nice, I ended strong and I have the feeling I’m doing the same here. So having that preparation from the winter on already and going in the same way also gives confidence that I know that that was a good way to do it and that I am in a very very good shape"

"I think it’s clear we have we have a solid team and I think we showed last year in the classics that we managed to ride as a team and be present in the final," said the Belgian. "I think we all want to be there in the front group after Poggio and then hopefully we are not in the situation where you have to chase someone of the likes of Tadej or Mathieu and then, I think a lot can happen but, of course, it’s not a guarantee."