"I think it would be tough (to go on the Cipressa), because he’d be on his own and there are still 10 kilometres of the Aurelia with the group behind pulling hard," explains Petacchi. "He might try, but then he wouldn’t be fresh for the Poggio."
Although the Cipressa might be considered too far for mere mortals, Pogacar has already proven repeatedly that he doesn't concern himself with such trivial concerns, as demonstrated most notably by a 100km attack to win the World Championships in 2024. "It’s not the same thing. The course was very different; the World Championship was definitely more challenging, and that's where it made a difference," analyses Petacchi though. "In Milano-Sanremo, you crest the Cipressa with 70 riders, and the team leaders still have their teammates with them. Even if he gains 20 seconds, I don’t think it would be enough. In that case,
Mathieu van der Poel and
Filippo Ganna would have to wait and let the teams do the work. Of course, if four or five riders followed him, that would change everything, but that would be a totally unprecedented scenario for Milano-Sanremo."
"I believe it will only be
UAE Team Emirates - XRG pushing hard. Trying to drop Pogacar uphill would be foolish, so the others will have to wait and try to respond. Van der Poel is the only one who managed to attack him two years ago, but that meant he was going twice as fast as the others," concludes Petacchi. "Pogacar definitely deserves it for what he’s been trying to do for years. But Van Der Poel is in excellent form as well. Ganna is a bit more of an unknown, but he will definitely be among the main protagonists."
Despite not ruling out Van der Poel and Ganna, when pressed to jump off the fence and predict one winner for this Saturday though, Petacchi is firm and clear. "I’ll go with Pogacar."