Has Tudor got an ace up their sleeve for Milano-Sanremo? "On a good day, he can survive the Poggio with the ten best"

Tudor Pro Cycling have 2019 Milano-Sanremo champion Julian Alaphilippe among their ranks. Surely, that would be their best card, right? Well, as it turns out there are several options for the Swiss ProTeam like betting on Matteo Trentin. Or they may go for a complete upset with certain Rick Pluimers.

Why Pluimers? "He already showed that last year in the Renewi Tour and he has continued that into this season. He is very sharp and has forced himself to be a protected rider. He is on a nice growth curve and I expect him to take another step this year. I am convinced that there will be another layer on top," team manager Bart Leysen tells Wieler Revue.

First up is Milano-Sanremo on Saturday, where Pluimers hopes to continue his good form. What does Leysen think about the Dutchman's chances? "On a good day he can survive the Poggio with the ten best, I think."

Rick Pluimers put his name out there early on in the season with a victory at the Muscat Classic (1.1) in Oman, but the 'Oh' moment came when the 24-year-old mixed himself against the best during Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne and walked away with a sweet top-5 result.

Yet the performances that highlight him as a potential dark horse of Milano-Sanremo came at the recent Tirreno-Adriatico. During the third stage used by some favorites as a test for La Primavera, the Dutchman hung on with the best and finished fourth.

The forecast for Saturday is once again not in riders' favor. How can this mix up everyone's cards? "Due to the bad weather, it won't be a normal Milano-Sanremo this year. I suspect that it will be a case of not quite being able to keep up with the best, but it could also be a case of being able to keep up. That applies to many riders. He will definitely be close."