Last year Elisa Longo Borghini tried it on the descent of the Poggio, but this time the Italian champion wants to return to Milano-Sanremo to win it. That attack, caught back in the final kilometer, is a constant thought. As Elisa confides in us, it's a kind of nagging doubt that reappears especially on certain days, a small defeat that she has however managed to transform into motivation. After all, it was only the first spring Classic, there will be a new opportunity to try again and shake things up for everyone. Saturday is approaching and the Italian champion is preparing to make her voice heard.

Elisa is in good shape, there's no need for her to confirm it, you just need to see the recent races she's competed in to understand that her form is one of her best days. In 7 days of racing she won the Trofeo Oro in Euro, but above all she secured a fourth place at Strade Bianche after fighting tooth and nail. On Sunday at Cittiglio she didn't cross the finish line first, but in the victory of her teammate Karlijn Swinkels there is much of the Italian champion who on the climb demonstrated to be absolutely the most brilliant. "I feel good and I believe I'm quite competitive. Especially at Strade Bianche I had excellent signals, while at Cittiglio I worked for the team also because making a difference on the climb was very difficult. The Trofeo Binda is a beautiful race and now it's becoming a key race in view of Sanremo, personally it was also a kind of training, testing myself with violent accelerations lasting 2 to 5 minutes. Looking ahead to Saturday I'm very motivated, I absolutely want to try to have a great race, then whatever happens, happens, the important thing is to try," Elisa told tuttobiciweb after the Cittiglio race. She spent a few days at home in peace and quiet before heading towards Genoa.

The Milano-Sanremo route doesn't really need much introduction, the women's version starting from Genoa retains all its most characteristic features such as the three capes, but above all the Cipressa and the Poggio. If last year the same athletes didn't quite know what to expect, with a trial edition under their belts the race could be open to multiple possibilities. "I believe it could be a different Sanremo and even more unpredictable. Lately women's races ignite earlier and earlier and I don't rule out that the race could already explode on the Cipressa; there could be girls who, having already tried it last year, take courage and attack, but it's really difficult to predict what might happen. The beauty of Sanremo is precisely its unpredictability and I hope that soon we can have a route that exceeds 200 km, the women's movement is ready." Elisa continues, sending through our microphones yet another message to RCS to finally bring Sanremo to 200 km, making it the longest race in the international cycling landscape.

The most talked-about name is that of defending champion Lorena Wiebes, but there's also Marianne Vos and an Anna Van der Breggen who at Cittiglio showed to be in excellent form. Elisa Longo Borghini rattles off a couple of names, highlighting the presence of Elisa Balsamo who hasn't had a perfect start to the season, but is training hard, but especially Noemi Ruegg. The Swiss rider, third last year, secured a podium not by chance, this year she won the Tour Down Under again and could be the real outsider at the finish line. According to weather forecasts, it should rain on Saturday, not ideal terrain, but conditions in which Longo finds herself very comfortable and which could make the predictions even more complicated. Last year the presence of the team was crucial, Lorena Wiebes wasn't just the strongest, but had at her side a Lotte Kopecky who made the difference, finishing right behind Longo Borghini.

If we talk about team lineups, Team UAE ADQ is the one that absolutely has a compact group that can adapt to multiple scenarios. At the Binda they all won together, almost as if they had studied it at a table, an absolutely perfect tactic that confirms the strong bond that unites Elisa with her teammates. Friends, as well as athletes, ready to sacrifice themselves for one another, but also to share healthy moments of lightness together. "I'm very grateful to Team UAE, they welcomed me and took me for who I am, in a way they made me younger and also allowed me to be myself. There's a tight-knit group and when we do something we give 100% to help each other – Elisa continues – for Sanremo I'm not the only card to play and I really like that. Besides me in the team there are many alternatives starting with Eleonora Camilla Gasparrini and Silvia Persico who are proving to be going really strong. Everyone is ready to help me and I'm ready to help them, lately even in women's cycling the team always makes the difference and I believe that at Sanremo it will definitely be the same."

The second edition of the newly born Sanremo Women is shaping up to be a race full of surprises and certainly more uncertain than ever. And what if it were precisely Elisa with one of her attacks that upsets everyone's plans, perhaps even on the Cipressa? We'll have to wait until Saturday to find out, but in the meantime the Italian champion has a message for her rivals: "Be ready because I will sell my skin dearly."