If the coach says so... Asgreen no longer shies away from Van der Poel and co, starting from Milan-San Remo

Asgreen smiles when we point out that he had high aims last winter when stating his goals. "If I'm at my best, I am among the top riders. I wasn’t at my best last year, I was still recovering from an injury. After the victory in the Tour, I feel that I've managed to leave all that behind, so we can mainly look ahead again. I also have the motivation to take on those big guys again," he said in January.

"I think everyone is ambitious in the winter. That's the life of an athlete, and no different than other years," Asgreen says a few weeks later. The fact that he crashed hard during the Opening Weekend was, in that sense, a false start. Because of this, he was not among the front runners in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Strade Bianche. "My body has recovered well from the crash in the Omloop. Luckily, I didn’t have any serious injuries, so that doesn't bother me anymore."

Good news, because for Milan-San Remo, Soudal-Quick Step will not only be focusing on team leader Julian Alaphilippe. "I definitely want to try," Asgreen agrees. "Julian is our leader, and our main card to play. He has already won here, so he's our best bet. However, in current cycling and with the way races are being ridden these days, it's good to have multiple cards to play. It would be good for us if we have more than one rider at the front after the Poggio."

At The Wolfpack, Asgreen must now and especially later on the Flemish cobbles be the man who can keep up with the best, just as he wanted in the winter. "What are my numbers? My coach is the one who looks at my files. During the races, I don't look at my Garmin much. I follow the race and react to what happens, that's better for me. I hope to gradually be the best Kasper I can be, that was the goal this winter. My coach has assured me that I'm on track, so if the form isn't there now, something went wrong. Let's hope the form is indeed there."

Responding to Tadej Pogacar's team, then, will be the motto in Milan-San Remo. "UAE Team Emirates has made no secret that they want to make it a hard race leading up to Saturday, that's no surprise to anyone. That's how they've always done it with Tadej," Asgreen acknowledges, seemingly eager to test his legs against the very best. "Let's hope we can throw a spanner in the works."