On the eve of the longest race of the year, Sport Director Leonardo Basso talks us through the 298-kilometre race and the beauty of Milano-Sanremo.
Ciao everybody. Everyone on the team is super excited ahead of Milano-Sanremo this Saturday, and we have a strong team to help us deliver results.
Connor Swift and Jack Haig will act as support after the Turchino downhill to the Capi. It is a chaotic phase and we need to set up the position a bit earlier. After, we have Michal Kwiatkowski, Axel Laurance and Ben Turner for the phase on Capi into the Cipressa. After, we have Filippo Ganna and Josh Tarling from the bottom of the Cipressa to the finish in theory.
Jack surprised us to be honest, because he's in a new team and has only done a few races with us but he has raced super well in our system. In Tirreno-Adriatico, he was strong, and he will be super useful in this kind of role to set us up in the right position as he really understands racing dynamics. He will be fundamental in the team dynamics.
Kwiato has, of course, won the race before and he will be our road captain. I think he is one of the best, or if not the best, in the group for understanding Milano-Sanremo and all the small details around the race. He is the best to have on board to manage the team in the crucial moments. He is also a huge value to Filippo, for the team in general, and also for us in the car. Sometimes we need a rider in the race to communicate and make the call, as we can't always see what is happening in the bunch. He will be fundamental.
We have predicted the tactics our competitors will make, and that ties into the roles of Axel and Ben. We expect a super strong UAE that want to attack and be aggressive on the Cipressa. Every team knows this, so the run into the Cipressa is likely to be more chaotic than last year. We can say clearly that Axel and Ben's job is to go on the Cipressa, but we have to be ready to do this with them. If it is more chaotic than the years before, then we have to be ready to go deep on the Cipressa and deliver Filippo in the best position possible.
Last year, Pogacar unlocked a race scenario with his strong attack on the Cipressa. We hadn't seen this for 30 years, so now everybody is expecting the same and we have to be ready for this scenario. But we also need an open mind and to be flexible because Sanremo is an unpredictable race, and this is the charm that this race has. We have to be ready to change and adapt our plan based on the race conditions.
For Josh, he is also such a value for this team. He was flying at Paris-Nice so it is fantastic to have him on board without the pressure. His legs are there. We're just going into the Cipressa with him and seeing what opportunities the race offers. The beauty of Sanremo is that there are thousands of scenarios that can happen, and it is fantastic to have one more card to play in the team.
Fuelling is fundamental. The race is sort of divided into two parts - the first from Milano to the sea, and the other from the sea to the finish. There are different weather conditions for those two parts of the race, starting in winter and finishing in the spring we like to say in Italy, which is part of the beauty of the race. It's important for us to keep the gas in the tank on the first part, and be ready to spend everything, more than everything, on the last part - Capi, Cipressa and Poggio. Every detail counts - the fuelling, aerodynamics, how you spend time on the wheels.
Last year was a strange break - the strongest break in the world! This is one of the best scenarios that we can think of. My feeling is that we have to be ready to adapt the plan in any case. Sanremo isn't over until the finish line and this is not just a theoretical thing - this is the reality in Sanremo. It isn't over until the last metre of Via Roma.
We have to fight and be ready!