Milan-Sanremo, it will be a challenge between Van Der Poel and Pogacar. Italians late

Nibali “Milan-Sanremo? Watch out for Ganna”

We’re dry, in short. We applaud with envy and admiration the young talents who seem to flourish only abroad. From the Danish Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the last two Tours de France, to the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, capable of dominating the Tirreno-Adriatico with an extraordinary breakaway of over 80 kilometres. And then the giants of the North: the Dutch Van Der Poel, world champion and first at the last Sanremo; the Belgians Van Aert and Evenepoel, still protagonists; the seasoned but always fearsome Primoz Roglic, also Slovenian, only partially “overshadowed” by the young cannibal Pogacar. And we might go on forever. Australians, English, Americans, Germans, Spanish, some French. Globalized cycling speaks, in addition to English, any language except Italian which for decades was the common lexicon of cycling.

We therefore arrive with slightly charged batteries at this Milan-Sanremo (departing from Pavia and arriving in via Roma following 288 kilometres). Kept upright by the remote hope that a sprinter like Jonathan Milan, the Friulian sprinter who closed the Tirreno-Adriatico in style, manages to remove us from the embarrassment with a sprint of his. Because behind this 23 year old, Olympic track champion, who has dazzled important names like Kristoff and Philipsen, there is truly a void. Suffice it to say that the first Italian in the general classification at Tirreno-Adriatico was Lorenzo Fortunato, the climber from Bologna who finished 14th, almost six minutes behind Vingegaard.

At least on paper, the duel for victory seems already written. And it features Mathieu Van Der Poel, world champion and winner of the last edition, and the Martian Tadej Pogacar, a phenomenon who is now making the shoes of even Eddy Merckx due to his insatiable desire not to miss any goal. Two absolute big names who both have excellent reasons to conquer Sanremo. For the Dutchman, if he scored a double, it would be the best way to reiterate that he is number one in one-day races. By winning with the rainbow jersey he would also enter the prestigious club of world champions who triumph in the very classic with the rainbow jersey (Alfredo Binda, Eddy Merckx twice, Felice Gimondi and Beppe Saronni).

As for Pogacar, there is little to add. He wants to win because he is a winner. Perhaps Sanremo is more suited to the Dutchman’s lightning-fast shots, but never say never with the Slovenian. He has accustomed us to any undertaking. The only one who has put him in difficulty, so far, is Vingegaard, beating him in the last two editions of the Tour. But the Dane is indeed another phenomenon, more built to excel in the big climbs of stage races. Pogacar is more like the ancient champions who compete on any terrain from February to October. That’s why I like it. He has practically no weaknesses. And in fact he will then participate in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. A very ambitious program as is this cheerfully ambitious Slovenian boy who, at 25 years old, already has a frightening curriculum vitae.

However, Van Der Poel has another string to his bow: that of the Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen, his partner in the Alpecin -Deceuninck, who was also a protagonist at the Tirreno in the sprint in Follonica. If he reaches the sprint, the Belgian might be a valid alternative. Just as we must also keep an eye on the Slovenian Matej Mohoric, winner of the last edition and always ready to enter the fight between the super big names.