According to our consultant Yoann Offredo, Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) is the Habs most likely to win the first great classic of the season on Saturday.
Who will succeed Matej Mohoric? The 2023 edition of Milan-San Remo promises an extremely indecisive battle. Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogacar, Arnaud De Lie, Mads Pedersen, Mathieu van der Poel… The fastest riders in the peloton will almost all be present to try to win the first Monument of the season. In the midst of this crowd of suitors, French riders have their say, especially since “Spring” has done well for them, with six podiums in the last seven editions, including two victories: Arnaud Démare (2016) and Julian Alaphilippe (2019).
“The one who seems to me the most likely to win Milan-San Remo is necessarily Christophe Laporte. He is playing in the best team at the moment (Jumbo Visma). He has top speed, he climbs well and he can pass the Cipressa and the Poggio (both ribs before arriving on the flat). In his first two races of the year, he made two Top 10s (3e sur le Het Nieuwsblad et 6e sur Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne). He is gaining momentum and showed last year that he has reached a milestone in this new team.”says our consultant Yoann Offredo, himself 7th in the event in 2011.
Wout van Aert’s teammate, with whom he will have to share the poster on the race, proved last year that he was capable of winning on classics, finishing 2nd in Ghent-Wevelgem and the Grand Prix de l ‘E3. However, a doubt surrounds his state of form since his last minute withdrawal from illness at Paris-Nice. Last year, he finished 22nd in Milan-San Remo, leaving his leader to fight in the first rung of the race (8th).
Blur around Alaphilippe
For Yoann Offredo, another tricolor rider stands out behind him because he has already raised his arms in San Remo. “Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) put a big cross on this race. He made his comeback in Paris-Nice, he did not win, but he is thirsty for victories. It is an asset for him. Démare has a chance to follow in the Poggio. We saw on the first stage of Paris-Nice, he passed in third position on the wall of Milon-La-Chapelle, with the best, including Pogacar. It is already a sign that he is in good shape and that he is able to make lactate tolerance efforts with the best”analyzes the consultant.
According to the latter, the finish will be played, as is regularly the case, in a sprint, within a small group, where victory is not always won by the fastest runner. But the right attack at the right time can also make the difference, if the leaders mark themselves and none of them decides to take on the pursuit, as was the case for Vincenzo Nibali (2018), Jasper Stuyven (2021) or Matej Mohoric (2022). For Offredo, some could come out on top in this situation: “Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) is one of the names that we don’t necessarily mention who had a good start to the season. He won in Australia. He’s a good little outsider who can take advantage of the marking of some of the favorites”.
Our consultant places less hope in Julian Alaphilippe, even if he considers him capable of creating a surprise, depending on his state of form. “He’s a rider capable of transcending himself on major events, and who is one of those rare riders capable of making a difference in the Poggio. If it’s the Julian Alaphilippe that we have known in previous years, he is capable. However, we saw him on Tirreno-Adriatico, when it accelerates on very intense efforts, he is a little overtaken by Jumbo-Visma and Wout van Aert. To see how he will be in Milan, but he is a priori a little below what one would expect from him”.