With Pogacar and van der Poel on the startlist, Arnaud de Lie won't even return to Milano-Sanremo - "I don’t stand a chance"

Milano-Sanremo is the first monument of the season and every year it attracts a luxurious startlist. However, less and less there are sprinters present as it has become a race more guided towards the classics specialists and even the climbers. A few riders, as is the case with Arnaud de Lie, are not even taking to the start because they don't believe in victory in a race where Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel are going to be at their best.

The leader of Lotto-Intermarché is also a heavy absence from the race, as a rider who would on paper be perfectly fit for the race. Whilst being a sprinter, de Lie's results have often come across as more of a classics specialist, well suited to the Flemish classics, but capable also of dealing with the shorter climbs of the Ligurian coast. He raced Sanremo only in 2023, not having a spot amongst the best however.

Whilst he is a more mature rider at the moment, capable of fighting for a top result or even winning if a scenario such as 2024 (when Jasper Philipsen won out of a reduced sprint), the Belgian doesn't believe he can do so with the race now expected to detonate on the Cipressa. Tadej Pogacar has not won the race yet, and the penultimate climb of the day is the best suited for attacks, which is the scenario that played out last spring.

De Lie has said this in words to Het Laatste Nieuws: “Unless Pogacar and Van der Poel call in sick five days beforehand," he joked. "I think I’m making the right choice".

De Lie has not had the ideal start to the season, having to delay his debut due to health issues; however with his start at the Clasica de Almeria, he already put in a satisfying performance in his own words. He will be racing the Opening Weekend in a week's time; but his spring will be built around the cobbled classics, not the Italian monument.

The reason is quite simple: "I have to be realistic: with them on the start line I don’t stand a chance. They ride the Cipressa a minute faster than the rest. Milano–Sanremo is a lost day for me. It’s pointless". The Belgian admits he could put in a good result in the race, but he continues to carry the sprinter's mentality, focusing on wins above all. "A top ten is nice, but it doesn’t do much for me beyond that," he justifies.

"Right now I get more satisfaction from a win — for example two days earlier at GP Denain. Maybe one day I’ll go back, but… everything in its time. And if it never happens again, I won’t lose sleep over it. There are worse things in life," he concluded.d