"Milano-Sanremo is the most difficult race to win" for Tadej Pogacar, Matxin admits

This week CyclingUpToDate has had the opportunity to talk to UAE Team Emirates manager Joxean Matxín where he has talked about numerous topics including Tadej Pogacar, his calendar and ambitions for 2025; as well as other key riders such as Jonas Vingegaard, Maxim van Gils and Pablo Torres. However, the Spanish manager has had more insight to share on Milano-Sanremo in particular.

In words to Eurosport, he tells that the team already decided on a calendar for Tadej Pogacar, but this will only be announced at the start of their training camp. “We have already made the decisions and the decisions have been made. We will announce the schedule on December 10 during the team’s media day in Alicante. It is clear that the idea is to further improve Pogacar’s record, keeping in mind all the races he has not yet won.”

The main goals for the summer will be the Tour de France and with virtual certainty the Vuelta a España as well, whilst in the spring he will try to win the Tour of Flanders again as well as Milano-Sanremo which will be a prime goal. Asked about the Italian monument, Matxin responded:

"The biggest gaps seem to be the monuments Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix on the one hand. On the other hand, the Vuelta is also missing from the Grand Tours. In my opinion, Milano-Sanremo is the most difficult race to win. The race is decided in five explosive minutes after seven hours of racing. If you are realistic, no rider can be superior to his competitors in five minutes today. There are many contenders besides Tadej".

After the stupendous season the team has had, it's hard to improve on it, but Matxín is also aware of it and the goal will be to sustain the same level, as well as match the evolution of Jonas VIngegaard and Team Visma | Lease a Bike who have already made their intention of taking the Tour de France triumph once again public.

“The intention is to maintain what we have achieved in 2024. It's not easy to remain the best rider and the best team in the world, because that means that many of your rivals now know your strengths and have studied your weaknesses. So we try to maximize our strengths and eliminate the weaknesses. You know he's going to have a good year and you know he's going to win, but you don't know in what quantities," he concluded.