Caleb Ewan advices Tadej Pogacar on how to improve his chances at Milano-Sanremo: "His best bet is to take it easy over the Cipressa and then do a full lead-out to Poggio"
Cycling
Caleb Ewan was twice a runner-up at Milano-Sanremo and so you could, with a bit of exaggeration call him an expert for La Primavera. The Australian who recently joined INEOS Grenadiers won't participate in this year's edition, but he still shared few ideas on how should one of the hot favourites - Tadej Pogacar - approach the race to improve his own chances of winning.
Riding Cipressa (the penultimate climb on the route) at full speed should play in Pogacar's favour, but it might be a tactic that has been backfiring at the Slovenian in past years. Ewan talks about the Slovenian's Milano-Sanremo chances in The Geraint Thomas Cycling Podcast. "It will be difficult for Pogacar to win Milano-Sanremo. Especially with the current riders who are between climbers and sprinters, like Van der Poel."
Riders pass Cipressa just under twenty kilometres from the finish. "Normally a rider like me wouldn't have to come over those climbs with the best, but if you're well positioned in the wheel, it can be a lot easier. What also plays a role: everyone knows that he's going to do something and there are no places in Milan-Sanremo where you can surprise someone."
Ewan would also use a different tactic if he were Pogacar. "The mistake he made in the past, in my opinion, was that he made it too hard on the Cipressa. That made the race between the Cipressa and Poggio very easy. More riders were dropped, while the lead-out to the Poggio is normally full throttle. I remember one year that I was riding 500 watts in the wheel before the Poggio even started."
Pogacar's tactics had the opposite effect, Ewan thinks. "The approach became easier, which made the riders he had to drop fresher. His best bet in my opinion is to take it easy over the Cipressa and keep as many teammates as possible. And then do a full lead-out to the Poggio."
If every rider would explain all the best tactics in public so everyone would be warned in advance, would that change anything? Will Pog even find out Caleb? Did you contact him or are you just telling everyone else? At least Mohoriç gave his advice in person, when it mattered.
It was on a podcast… interviewers ask questions, and then the guest responds. That’s a weird thing for you to have a gripe with.
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- Totally!Mistermaumau04-04-2025
- It will be interesting to see how he goes on the cobbles, so far he's looking very strong.awp04-04-2025
- if there is an actual weakness in wout even when completely healthy, it’s that he’s in his head too often. this has been pointed out many times by much more acute observers of cycling than ME, certainly. it may be that he’s been like this since he was a little kid. we are who we are. or that he was shaped by having faced van der poel SOOO many times. mvdp has zero second thoughts. he wastes no time at all on doubt. that has, in the past, led him to do some pretty insane things and make mistakes that wout would never have committed. but it also makes him a killer. you can see wout’s split seconds of doubt and hesitation everywhere in their head to head battles. those hesitations spill over into other races at times like dwars, when doubt creeps in. i believe that currently he is still coming back from physical problems due to injuries, but even when he’s full strength the mental game is an area of potential concern, AND potential improvement.OCexile03-04-2025
- Not only the public, just about every analyst and commentator had been piling it on. Under the circumstances I’d even say he’s showing real character. Not sure likeable Tadej would manage as well during a longer rough patch.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Took a while but we finally have a more nuanced analysis.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- If I remember right, it was those same hungry journalists selling us a different story less than a year ago about the bleak future of Dutch (men’s) cycling with no possible successor for MVDP ;-)Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Good, hopefully Jonas goes also so we get a nice duelvappaxbipmv03-04-2025
- right? i think it’s hungry journalists that fuel this, and i understand the jam they can be in trying to create stories, but you’d hate to think ANYONE is failing to appreciate how RARE someone like van der poel is (or how LUCKY we are to have both mvdp and pog racing at the same time). a little perspective is a good thing…OCexile03-04-2025
- Anyone know how long that 213km ride took? Coz without that the segment speeds don’t reveal anything surprising. If it took him Less than 5h ok but otherwise it was just some interval training for him.Jumpyjohn03-04-2025
- Hinault was even lighter than Pog at 62 kg when he won PR in 1981, beating Roger van Vlaeminck no less (albeit at the fag end of the latter's career), so it can be done.Cooldude03-04-2025