"I’ve trained with Tadej a few times this week and he’s really fired up" - Vermeersch confirms Pogacar is ready for Cipressa assault in Sanremo
Cycling
Milano-Sanremo is right around the corner, and it is a race where climbing and endurance capacity are just as important as positioning. Hence, even the teams that want to make a difference uphill need a lineup with classics specialists and heavyweight riders. In UAE Team Emirates - XRG's case, Tadej Pogacar can heavily benefit from the presence of Florian Vermeersch (formerly of Lotto Dstny).
The Emirari team revealed their lineup for the first monument of the season, where Isaac del Toro, Jan Christen and Brandon McNulty were designated pieces to make the race hard on the Cipressa, where the World Champion is expected to attack.
Vermeersch has the legs to do quite a lot in such a race, but it is positioning towards the Cipressa which is crucial, and where his role will be in mainly. That is because the approach is technical and extremely fast; there is a pinch point in the bottom of the climb; and the climb in itself is likely to be attacked within the first five or six minutes, meaning the pace should be anaerobic the whole way up.
“I’ve only ridden Sanremo once, and on Friday I went to Italy on my own to get the approach with the Capi firmly in my head again," Vermeersch said in words to Het Laatste Nieuws. “In terms of horsepower, I don’t think we fall short of last year’s selection. We don’t need to stand on the start line with any less confidence".
The absence of the injured Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez is seen as a big blow, as these are the two men who worked for Pogacar on the Cipressa in 2025, but the team has looked to replace them. However, whether the tactic will be the same is something that will remain to be seen this Saturday afternoon.
"I can’t reveal our tactics, but I’m not giving away any big secrets when I say my role involves guiding Tadej and the climbers into a good position over the first Capi and towards the foot of the Cipressa. After that, it’s up to our climbing train to fly," he assures.
The Belgian hopes the weather is on the team's side, but it's harder to make a bigger difference than 12 months ago. “If you want to make the race hard, a tailwind is perfect because riders in the wheel have less of an advantage. Maybe it will turn in the right direction".
But the Cipressa is the key. Poggio does not have the gradients to drop someone like Mathieu van der Poel, who has equal climbing ability for such a shallow climb; whilst the penultimate ascent of the day is close enough to the finish to maintain a gap to the finish in the Slovenian's terms.
The key is to climb it as fast as possible, and ideally, beat the record of last year. “It’s very possible. We’ll do everything to get Tadej into a good position, and then his legs and our tactics will do the talking. All I can say is that I’ve trained with Tadej a few times this week and he’s really fired up," he confirmed.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
- I think Tadej will be working on his new C7 TT position for the Tour de France :-)frieders304-11-2026
- Every great cyclist has at least two Giro/Tour doubles, and in modern cycling or what we call modern cycling, Miguel Indurain is the only guy to do it twice. I think Tadej should go for it and commit if he is putting up good numbers somewhere around January/February.awp04-11-2026
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