Milan-San Remo is one of the top five classics and the longest single-day race on the World Tour.
Tadej Poga ar, who has just finished the Tirreno-Adriatico overall, said in January that he had added Milan-Sanremo to his programme, the second time in his career. Pogacha, who has already won the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche and Double Sea championships this season, said in an interview with foreign media that he would strive for the championship in Saturday's race.
The tour de France's two-time winner has been unusually strong on the field, constantly breaking cycling records, and has already won 10 stages at the age of 23, and his strong dominance in various arenas in the past two years has made many opponents feel afraid. Milan-Sanremo champions are usually produced at the finish sprint, but if it is a sprint to the finish line, Pogacha does not have much advantage. Even so, Bogacha remained ambitious.
Pogacha's participation in Milan-Sanremo could change the landscape of the game, making this year's competition variable, the probability of the sprinter winning the championship will be reduced, and his appearance will make opponents headaches about how to develop tactics.
After winning the doubles, Pogacha said he was close to peak form, which put pressure on his opponents.
In a post-match interview for the Doubles, Pogacha said: "Everyone is asking me what I think of Saturday's game. Well, we can look forward to this long and tough race. Milan-Sanremo finished with a low difficulty, but it is not so easy to compete for the title, we will play with a strong squad and do our best to fight for the title. "
He then added: "It's a challenge for me, Milan-Sanremo is probably one of the hardest games for me to win, maybe even the hardest, not one of them. "
"There are two climbs before the finish line, Cipressa and Poggio, but the slope is not large and most riders, including sprinters, can get through smoothly. Most of the time the championship is born in the finish sprint or is won late in the race by a solo attack. This route is not suitable for me to play, but whenever I have the opportunity, I will fight for it. "
Pogacha launched an ultra-long-range attack at the White Road Race at the beginning of the month, and he attacked alone when he was still 50 kilometers away from the finish line, and won the championship strongly. Milan-Sanremo has won with a similar long-range attack, but in modern cycling, such offensive methods do not have much chance of winning.
Pogacha had enough strength to attack at the two climbing points of Cipressa or Poggio. For this match, Emirates may send a more explosive lineup to try to eliminate most sprinters on the Cipressa climb.
After eliminating some of the drivers, Pogacha may launch another attack at Poggio, as far as possible to throw away strong sprinters such as Wout van Aert, who can threaten him in the finish sprint.
Pogacha hinted that Cipressa could be the key point in this year's Milan-Sanremo match.
"Launching a long-range attack in Milan-Sanremo would be a special thing, but the chances of success are too low. But if I succeed in my attack on the Cipressa climb, my hopes of winning the title will be greatly enhanced," he said, with a twinkle of hope in his eyes.
Edit: Johnny
Image source: UAE state media