After a sensational WorldTour debut, this 18-year-old superstar is suddenly a shadow favorite for Milan-San Remo

If we had to list the favorites for Milan-Sanremo, we would land on the usual names: Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering, Elisa Balsamo... Of course, we can’t forget Marianne Vos either. The 37-year-old superstar, with all her experience, will definitely be a contender. On the other end of the spectrum stands a very young mega talent, who, after a brilliant lead-up, can suddenly be counted among the shadow favorites.

The 18-year-old Cat Ferguson will make her appearance in La Primavera on behalf of Movistar. The young Brit sees starting in this edition of Milan-Sanremo as something truly special. “I feel very fortunate to be part of the historic return of Milan-Sanremo,” she told Cyclingnews. “Almost all the big names are at the start—except Anna van der Breggen, I think. So I’m really looking forward to it.”

Last year, the Italian one-day race wasn’t on the calendar—the last time this Monument was held was in 2005, before Ferguson was even born. “I feel lucky to be part of the sport at this moment in time, with so many opportunities ahead of me. I know this race didn’t even exist a year ago, which is what makes it so special. Hopefully I’ll remember this race and this moment for the rest of my career.”

Last week, the junior world champion raced for the first time this year. She made her WorldTour debut in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda—and what a debut it was: she immediately landed on the podium with a third-place finish. She crossed the line ahead of big names like Vos, Vollering, and Puck Pieterse. But the young superstar was quite critical of herself. “The race itself wasn’t one of my better ones. I was struggling with nutrition because it was such a long race, and also with positioning.”

“It wasn’t really a race I’m proud of, but the sprint went much better than I ever could have hoped,” she added. Her fantastic result has drawn plenty of attention heading into Milan-Sanremo, but she’s not getting ahead of herself. “It was a big shock, but I’m not putting any pressure on myself to achieve those kinds of results again. I think I just got lucky.”

No pressure then—also because she’s feeling a bit under the weather. But normally, she wouldn’t even be racing. “I was actually supposed to skip Milan-San Remo. Two weeks ago they told me I’d be starting, and again, I think I just got lucky. I’m 18, and it’s the first edition.”

According to Ferguson’s analysis, the Cipressa and Poggio climbs will play a bigger role in the women’s race than in the men’s. “For us, the climbs will be more important than for the men. They’ll do more damage than they do in the men’s race.” That’s why she doesn’t expect a big group to fight it out on the Via Roma. “The group at the finish will be much smaller than what we’ve seen in the men’s race, like last year.”