“My aim is always to win” - Laurence Pithie hoping for a strong result at Milano-Sanremo in the first Monument of his career

Having already impressed this Spring at races such as Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Paris-Nice, Laurence Pithie is set to race his first Monument this weekend at Milano-Sanremo. The 21-year-old Kiwi rider took his first WorldTour win of his career at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in January and will be looking for another strong result on Saturday.

Speaking with his Groupama-FDJ team ahead of the race, Pithie said “the last 10km are among the most exciting of the year and I’m hoping to race them in the leading group and come away with a good result. I know there’s a lot of competition, but at the start my aim is always to win”.

At 288km in length, Milano-Sanremo is the longest race on the calendar, which can often make it difficult for younger riders to do well, as they are less experienced in conserving their energy and using it in the right moments. On the length of the race, Pithie went on to say that “it’ll be the longest race of my life, so that’s obviously a factor to take into account. We’ll have to save our energy and be very well placed at the strategic points”.

Stefan Küng is set to lead the team on Saturday, with Pithie there as an option should the race come down to a bunch sprint. Speaking about his younger teammate, the Swiss rider said that “Laurence Pithie has a good sprint and he’s proved that he can climb well. He’ll also be the leader and deserves his chance”.