No Mark Cavendish at Milano-Sanremo confirmed: "It's changed as a race to what it once was, when I won it"

Milano-Sanremo is no longer a race for the sprinters, but one for the classics specialists and puncheurs. Every year it gets harder and harder, and Mark Cavendish has confirmed that he will not take to the start line in the first place.

"Milan-San Remo will always be a special race for me but this season I also have a job to do. I rode it last year, it's changed as a race to what it once was, when I won it," he told Cyclingnews at Tirreno-Adriatico.

Cavendish won La Classicissima in 2009, 15 years ago this year. Around that year, other winners surged such as Mario Cippolini, Matthew Goss and Geral Ciolek, riders who had in the sprint their main weapon. Ever since 2017 however not a single edition has been won by a sprinter, and every year the action seems to kick off earlier and harder, as the classics specialists are more and more intent on making the difference in the small climbs. Cavendish does not have the legs to match this.

Last year he returned to the Italian monument but finished 150th as he was unable to follow the peloton uphill - the same would be expected this year if he returned. "The sport is what it is. I always watch the big one day races and I'll watch it with my son Casper, he loves the Classics, so it will still be a special day for me," he concluded. The Kazakh team will rely on the likes of Christian Scaroni to perform there, whilst Cavendish focuses on the flat classics such as Classic Brugge - De Panne and Scheldeprijs.