Belgian analyst Wuyts pinpoints Ganna and Pidcock as the most dangerous Sanremo contenders, but is frustrated with Van Aert: "Why is he not there?"

Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Mads Pedersen, Jonathan Milan... On Saturday, Milano-Sanremo will feature a long list of top riders. However, one name is not on the list: Wout van Aert. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike skipped La Primavera in favor of an altitude training camp in Tenerife, to the dismay of Michel Wuyts, who cannot understand why the former winner is not riding the race.

In the podcast Wuyts & Vlaeminck, Wuyts expresses his disbelief at Van Aert's absence. "It's too late, but I would have loved to see Van Aert start in the race he can win," he ponders. With its reputation as the first Monument of the year, Visma | Lease a Bike would always have a chance. "Have you seen his list of honors in Sanremo? Three times on the podium, once a winner, twice third, the other two times in the top ten. What more could you want? Ride the race again, right? Knowing that it might be the race that suits him best."

What the 2020 winner can use as a weapon in La Primavera is his versatility: whatever the course, he has a chance. "He can hit hard on the Poggio, and if he survives in a small group, he can finish it off in the sprint on the Via Roma if necessary. So why is he not there?" Van Aert is skipping the Italian spring in its entirety: he is returning in the E3 Saxo Classic to prepare for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

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In Tenerife, Van Aert is currently avoiding the nervousness of the race.

All eyes on Pogacar: "He can achieve an incredible series of victories"

Sven Vanthourenhout was a guest on the podcast. The former national coach and Mathieu van der Poel see Pogacar as the top favorite. "I assume that Pogacar wants to win Sanremo. If he succeeds now, he could achieve incredible victories in 2025. But how will he pull it off? Because then he would have to get rid of Mathieu van der Poel."

And then there are all sorts of contenders who can strike unpredictably. Wuyts tips Filippo Ganna as one of the most dangerous men. He already came in second in 2023, behind Van der Poel. "That means that Ganna finished second in the sprint after a difficult course when Wout van Aert was in the lead. So he could also end up in a group of seven or eight. And who will bring Ganna back when he takes off like Cancellara in 2008 and bursts down the streets of Sanremo?"

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Ganna, Van der Poel, Pidcock ... Wuyts lists them all as contenders.

Ambition could be a problem for Lidl-Trek: "Will Pedersen then be a domestique for Milan?"

Tom Pidcock is also a tough opponent. If you come with him over the Poggio, it will be challenging to keep his wheel, Wuyts knows. "I think he is the best downhill rider at the moment," he analyzes. Lidl-Trek has three contenders with Mads Pedersen, Jonathan Milan, and Jasper Stuyven, but that can also play against them. "If you saw Pedersen attack in the final stage, you know he wants to score in Milan-Sanremo. Will he then be a domestique for Milan?" the analyst thinks out loud.

Jasper Philipsen will - despite his injuries after his crash in Nokere Koerse - try to defend his title. Wuyts thought it would be a complicated story even before the unfortunate crash. "I would like Philipsen to break the pattern of recent years: Zabel succeeded himself in 2001 and then no one else. That also has to do with relief: Sanremo is now on my list of achievements, and that's good enough for me."

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