Arnaud de Lie's 2026 didn't start in the best way, an ankle sprain forced the Belgian to postpone his debut until mid-February, yet he has already secured two top-ten finishes in Spain and Portugal. Last year, the twenty-three-year-old from Lotto Intermarchè had an impressive season, winning five races and the final classification of the Renewi Tour. For this year he has decided to raise the bar and his calendar is already virtually set: he will race Tirreno, the Northern classics and the Tour de France, but not the Milan-San Remo, the reason? It's a waste of time.

Put that way it sounds like a joke and a laugh is more than justified, but these are the words De Lie used to sum up his upcoming appointments. A few days ago the Belgian rider, when asked by HLN, explained his choice not to take part in San Remo by pointing to the overwhelming dominance of two superstars like Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu Van Der Poel. "Milan-San Remo is not in my plans, unless Pogacar and Van der Poel get sick five days before the race. I have to be realistic, with two champions like them among the starters I have no chance whatsoever, they are the strongest. Only on the Cipressa are they able to put a minute into everyone else and starting with that premise already, it would be a wasted day, it wouldn't make sense, I prefer to focus on something else," said de Lie, who will include other races in his calendar such as the GP de Denain, scheduled two days earlier, where he has more concrete chances of getting a result.

The statements of the Belgian rider certainly raise a smile and seem to be on the edge of a joke, but in reality they contain the common thinking of many athletes in the peloton. In recent seasons Pogacar and Van Der Poel have practically divided the majority of the Monument Classics, an incredible dominance that has led many to feel defeated even before racing. There has been much talk of defeatism in the peloton and De Lie's statements can be seen precisely in that perspective, but not only that. The Belgian rider makes an objective analysis of his chances of victory and placement by choosing to invest his energy in other races that have courses more suited to him, he doesn't rule out a return to San Remo, but for now it's not in the plans. De Lie's statements are already destined to divide opinion, wise choice or wrong one? What is certain is that if everyone followed his idea, soon the Classicissima would risk finding itself with only a handful of starters.