TotalEnergies saw Peter Sagan dropped before the crucial climbs of Milano-Sanremo due to a puncture and had to rely on Anthony Turgis to lead the French squad. The French classics rider has shown a great amplitude of skillsets over the last few years, and has achieved a great second place at the season's first monument yesterday.
“On the Cipressa it went really fast today, we were soon with a group of 40 riders. After that I had to position myself well, and I succeeded," Turgis said. The TotalEnergies leader - after Peter Sagan's mistimed mechanical - was part of the group that stood out in the Cipressa where UAE Team Emirates ramped up the pace. He rode the Poggio conservatively, however he was in the chasing group when the descent finished.
"When Mohorič went into the descent I saw some good descenders ahead of me. I therefore thought that the gap was not going to be too big, but there was a bit too much looking at each other," Turgis added. He jumped on the final kilometer and went on to chase eventual winner Matej Mohoric by himself, finishing in the end a second place whilst banging his bars in disappointment, although maybe just after achieving the best result of his career so far.
“I know that I have the capacity to win in a race like the Ronde van Vlaanderen. It suffices that I have a good day, but then I also have to be lucky, of course. In the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad earlier this year, that was not possible due to punctures and a crash," he concluded.
Turgis is carrying some great form into the cobbled classics and will be one of the main favourites in most of the races he'll be at. With Flandres and Roubaix in sight, he'll be putting on his race number again at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic next week.
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