Mads Pedersen believes he’s in his greatest ever spring kind and so is logically assured of his probabilities at Saturday’s Milan-San Remo.
The previous world champion as soon as dismissed Milan-San Remo as boring and solely rode it for the primary time in 2022. However he has discovered to like the Italian Monument after ending sixth in 2022 and 2023, each occasions only a few seconds away from victory. Now he senses victory might be inside attain if his playing cards fall the proper means.
Pedersen talks like he races: with out holding again and with conviction. He’s clearly assured about his probabilities on this yr’s Milan-San Remo regardless of the presence of Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel and the danger their assaults on the Poggio will once more blow the race aside.
“Every part simply went nicely this yr. My coaching went nicely, I had good early races, which supplies you confidence and the staff did nicely within the first a part of the season too,” Pedersen stated on Thursday afternoon, with Milan-San Remo out of the blue only a restoration trip and the end simply 48 hours away.
“I wasn’t sick after Paris-Good this yr, so all the things simply went as deliberate. That does not occur typically, that’s why I imagine I’m the very best I’ve ever been right now of yr.”
Pedersen will lead Lidl-Trek together with 2021 Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Stuyven, with Jonathan Milan giving the staff a doable dash choice and Toms Skujiņš additionally impressing to this point this season. Tim Declercq is out as a result of sickness however Jacopo Mosca, Ryan Gibbons and Alex Kirsch will do the staff work and positioning earlier than the Cipressa and Poggio climbs within the last 30km.
Pedersen hopes to have a teammate with him within the last of the race, figuring out that having somebody to assist the chase off the Poggio could make the distinction between profitable and dropping.
“We now have a very robust staff and we imagine we now have the proper recipe to win the race, to be with numbers after the Cipressa and the Poggio. We imagine that’s the way in which we are able to win this race. We’ll attempt to copy what Jasper did a couple of years in the past,” Pedersen stated, confirming he’ll share staff management with Stuyven.
“We imagine that me and Jasper are stronger collectively than aside. A pair of kings is a fairly good set of playing cards should you play poker, and we imagine that is the yr we now have to play our two kings and we hope that begins on Saturday.
Pedersen has no plan to attempt to anticipate the large assaults on the Poggio nor go along with Pogačar and van der Poel in the event that they once more get away.
“Milan-San Remo is kind of a straightforward race till the final hour, when it goes sooner and sooner. In that final hour, all the things comes right down to the legs,” he steered, dismissive of the sprinters stealing the present this yr.
“I do not see an enormous group coming in collectively. Hopefully it’ll be a smaller group, wth me and a teammate in it. That’s the dream state of affairs for me.
“I feel Milan-San Remo fits me now greater than it did a couple of years in the past. However we’ve additionally seen it’s exhausting to comply with the assaults. It was unbelievable what Mathieu and Pogi did final yr.”
Pedersen was a part of the preliminary cut up when Pogačar attacked halfway up the Poggio in 2023 however was unable to then go along with the four-rider assault he dragged clear.
“Final yr I simply blew my engine on the Poggio,” he admitted. “I can solely attempt to be higher and hope that is sufficient to comply with them in the event that they assault once more. I simply imagine I’m adequate to win the race sooner or later.”
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