Mathieu van der Poel will be one of the favorites in Saturday's Milan-San Remo, but the Dutch champion is also thinking about his rivals, particularly Mads Pedersen, who he believes could cross the finish line first this time. Pedersen performed well at Paris-Nice, winning the green points classification, plus a stage victory and a third-place finish, and is now ready to tackle the Spring Classic, backed by good physical form.

"Winning Milan-San Remo? It's never easy," Pedersen admitted after Paris-Nice. "To succeed, you must have a plan A, but also a plan B and C".

Everyone knows that San Remo is an unpredictable race, very long, and only in the last 80 kilometers can you discover what might truly happen. The first time Pedersen faced the Ligurian Classic was in 2022 with a sixth place, then sixth again in 2023 and finally fourth last year in the sprint won by Jasper Philipsen over Michael Matthews and Tadej Pogacar.

"Paris-Nice was an opportunity to improve my form ahead of San Remo. I can't complain about how things went, even if I lost the initial sprints. With the team, we analyzed and saw that there's absolutely nothing wrong with my values. They are exactly the same as in previous years. My climbing qualities have improved a bit after last winter's high-altitude training. I've found a good balance in everything."

Paris-Nice is certainly not Milan-San Remo. Riders will cover 289 kilometers starting from Pavia, and the decisive part of the race will come when riders have over 200 kilometers in their legs. The Poggio of San Remo could once again be the turning point of the race, but sprinters will try to stay at the front and contest the victory in the final sprint on Via Roma.

"San Remo is not an easy race, there are many factors to consider, such as the weather, the race's progression, which teammate will have managed to stay with you until the finale. But also the rivals who will have survived and whom you'll find near the finish will be important. Everything will play a role because San Remo is the most unpredictable Monument Classic of all."