Filippo Ganna sacrifices everything to succeed at Classics this spring: "He's leaving aside track as well as the Giro..."
Cycling
Not strong enough to really compete for the victory at Milano-Sanremo, but Filippo Ganna nevertheless showed tremendous willpower as well as quality to finish on the final podium, just behind Mathieu van der Poel. Maybe in his best shape ever, the Italian dreams of one big Classics victory this spring.
"No, Ganna is not a sand-spreader or a complainer. Tirreno really took its toll on him," says Gazzetta journalist Ciro Scognamiglio. "Ganna rode a great Tirreno, finishing 2nd behind Ayuso. He had no regrets about those efforts. But it did leave him feeling tired."
So far we have seen a strong Ganna, even on his worse days. That can be accounted to a good off-season. "Unlike last year, he was not struck down by flu and other germs this winter. In addition, Ganna is leaving the track (his great love) a bit to the side this year. He still trains on the track sometimes, but is skipping the World Track Cycling Championships in mid-October."
And Ganna will not be admired at the Giro d'Italia either. "The first part of the season is purely about the classics. Then follows a break and the Tour, where he will help the team and wants to go on a stage hunt."
"Milano-Sanremo was his first goal this spring. Paris-Roubaix is that other big goal. Although it will be difficult to beat Van der Poel there," Scognamiglio realizes. For what it's worth, Ganna at least knows how to win in Roubaix from 2016, when won the variant for promises. "Ganna did win the U23 version of Paris-Roubaix and finished 6th among the pros two years ago. But Van der Poel obviously has many more credentials at the Hell of North."
Finally, the weather will play a crucial role for Ganna in Roubaix. Unlike Van der Poel or Van Aert, the Italian prefers to ride on dry conditions. "He likes to race in good weather. In the rain, Van der Poel has an extra advantage with his cyclocross skills."
Glad to know he's confident now, even though he didn't win; it's true, he never complains but in past interviews he often expressed his insecurity and bewilderment when he hadn't won the gold on the track or a time trial.
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- The finale of this race was an absolute mess, and the last crash that took out 1/2 of the field was caused when a double width road very suddenly funneled into a single lane, and riders had nowhere to go. I find it amazing how some of these courses get approved in the first place. So much for the UCI's campaign for improved rider safety, because if they actually cared, the organizers wouldn't have been allowed to run the finale on this parcours.
santiagobenites26-03-2025 - I hope Wout can come back. He has had 3 terrible crashes--not on par with Froome or Bernal, but at his level just a fraction of a percent is all that separates the grand champions of this new generation. Even if he is back all the way physically, those abrupt confrontations with pavement and mortality take a psychic toll, especially for a father of young kids.
Barney26-03-2025 - Everyone was so keen on free speech for a while, what happened ;-) But seriously, the problem is not so much that he gave his view as that someone follows it and spreads it, not totally unlike the schoolkids running US war games at present ;-)Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- We'll see what happens this year, hopefully he finds himself a little stronger.awp26-03-2025
- awp, the way and races he races, he probably doesn’t feel like he needs that many or specific race days before the Tour. His program isn’t very different from other years.Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- No, he just realises he’s not a one-day racer so why should he force himself?Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- Sacrificing E3 and G-W that were planned seems like he was hedging his options and only decided to do it after not winning MSR. Would he have planned to do all 5 and if so why hold back on announcing P-R if it wasn’t conditional? Guess people will get active with predictions now :-).Mistermaumau26-03-2025
- The MTB World title - there is no such thing. However, there are World titles in XCC, XCO, XCM, XCE, Enduro, Downhill......... He's after the World title in XCO, but could probably win the XCC title too, as his record is still better than anybody else, and he hasn't ridden an XCC World Cup since May 2021. Ten wins from twelve races says it all..... However, the XCO course is Crans-Montana is technical - he will surely need plenty of time back on the MTB, both training, and racing, otherwise it's going to be another doomed ambition.wipperman9526-03-2025
- Sweet. I wonder who's up on the next episode of Disgraced Ex-Doper Offers an Unsolicited Opinion?critguy26-03-2025
- well, paris-roubaix isn’t hilly AT ALL. it’s flat. the obstacle isn’t the hills it’s the cobbles, and what i’ve gathered over the years is that it’s almost impossible to imagine the beating that the body takes riding that course at race pace.OCexile26-03-2025