Tudor confirms big goals: Alaphilippe leads Milano-Sanremo and Tour of Flanders; Marc Hirschi prioritizes Strade Bianche and Ardennes

Tudor Pro Cycling Team has signed Julian Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi this season to become another top team on the scene and they are putting the two classics specialists to good use. With the wildcards for the spring now revealed in it's grand majority, the Swiss team is able to build the exact calendar for the upcoming months in search of big wins at World Tour level.

Julian Alaphilippe began his season in Portugal with the Figueira Champions Classic (where he was 8th) and the Volta ao Algarve where he rode alongside the climbers until late in the day on stage 2, and after some more training he will now take on the most important period of his season. The former World Champion will be tasked with a co-leadership at Paris-Nice to chase wins on the hilly days, with Matteo Trentin and Alberto Dainese also to seek out wins away from the mountains.

The French race though will serve as preparation at the same time for his latter goals, as in the following weekend he will race Milano-Sanremo where he has in the past taken the win. As had been hinted at earlier on in the year, the Frenchman wanted to take part in the cobbled classics and so he will be next to the likes of Pogacar, van der Poel and van Aert at both E3 Saxo Classic and Tour of Flanders.

Lastly he will take on the Ardennes classics, those that in the past have suited him better out of all his planned races. In all three races he will be present and be a co-leader alongside Marc Hirschi as both seek to give Tudor a very meaningful win.

Hirschi has already won this year at the Clàsica Comunitat Valenciana and after several one-day races, he will now aim for success at Tirreno-Adriatico which features a few hilly days. He will not race Milano-Sanremo, but instead Milano-Torino a few days prior, with the race's return to the Superga climb.

He will then look to build on his form for later in the spring, skipping Sanremo and the cobbled classics altogether, and returning to competition at Itzulia Basque Country before the Ardennes, where he should have plenty hilly and explosive days to show off their form and hunt for results.