Mads Pedersen knows who are the men to watch at Milano-Sanremo: "It was incredible what Mathieu did and also the attacks from Pogacar"

Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are the main stars of Milano-Sanremo, but Mads Pedersen is not far behind. The leader of Lidl-Trek can win his first monument here realistically and knows exactly what he has to do.

“I think it suits me better now than it did some years ago, for sure. But yeah, we saw in the last couple of years that the attacks are also hard to follow, especially last year, it was incredible what Mathieu did and also the attacks from Pogačar," Pedersen said in a pre-race press conference. "So it suits me better definitely than it would have done some years ago, but it's still not easy, you still have to follow some pretty strong riders to make the attacks.”  

UAE Team Emirates are having a very strong lineup and virtually all teams know they have to follow the pace when it will go up on both Cipressa and the Poggio. Pedersen is no exception; it is very likely that the scenario will be almost identical to last year, but it will be necessary to have the legs when eventually attacks soar off the front in the final climb of the day.

“I don't see a big group coming in, hopefully a smaller group with me and a teammate in. That's the dream scenario for me. In the past, Sanremo was called the sprinters' classic. But you know, cycling has changed and also the Classics have changed, when a guy like Pogačar shows up, now the climbers can do cobblestones as well," he continues. "It's definitely not a sprinters' classic anymore, and I don't think for the next many years we will see a big bunch sprinting in Sanremo.”

If that were to happen, Pedersen - as a sprinter and endurance specialist - could absolutely thrive and win. Last season he was there all throughout the year in the top races but in La Primavera he has also finished sixth in his two participations.

“To be honest, I didn't do any focused preparation for that last part. I just blew the engine last year on the Poggio. I don't know exactly if it would help me to train specifically for that attack Mathieu or Pogi would come with, so I just try to be in general better and hopefully that's enough to follow them if they do the same again," he concluded.