Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Tom Pidcock's words at the start of Tre Valli Varesine - "I don't feel great so I'm going through the race suffering"

Tre Valli Varesine is one of the most reputable classics of the year and once again, as Il Lombardia's final preparation race, it gathers a superstar lineup. At the start many riders have shared their opinions on the hilly and very rainy race that will headline this Tuesday afternoon, including Tadej Pogacar, Tom Pidcock and Remco Evenepoel.

CyclingPro.net has gathered words from all three main favourites but the reality is that this is a very open race where even in the presence of such stars, plenty other riders may be in contention - specially with the heavy rain, which has already forced organizers to cut two laps out of the circuit in Varese.

The hilly terrain leaves way for open and aggressive racing, without too difficult climbs. With Il Lombardia in a few days and this being a smaller race, not going to the absolute limit or on crazy solo attacks may also be the case for a few quality riders. Opportunities may be given (or taken) by their teammates - last year Ilan van Wilder stormed to victory in a race where Pogacar, Roglic, Mas and more were all present and in good form. In Pogacar and Pidcock, we see a very different mood at the startline when comparing to Remco Evenepoel this morning:

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates): "It's rain but nothing special. I love this race. I'm already in Italy for Il Lombardia, so it fits well into my programme. It can be chaotic today with this weather, because of the amount of water on the road. It can be quite chaotic in the peloton, but we will try to control as much as possible".

Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers): "I'm in a pretty good mood. We're going on an adventure in the rain. I think that if I stay warm I'll still be happy later. A lot of things can happen with the rain. So it's important to be focused from the start. It will probably be a race with only a few riders left in the final. The goal is of course to be among them, but first we have to focus on staying as warm as possible. He (Pogacar, ed.) can be beaten, but maybe he won't be beaten today".

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal - Quick-Step): "It's not raining lightly, it's raining really hard. So we have to make sure we're careful and get through this safely. I don't feel great so I'm going through the race suffering. It's been a long season, and now we're in the last few races. So there are still a few races to give it my all before I go on holiday on Sunday (he meant Saturday's Il Lombardia, ed.)".