Former Milan-San Remo winners Vincenzo Nibali and Maurizio Fondriest have gone on a coaching recon of Italy’s spring Monument with Q36.5 chief Tom Pidcock, and given the Briton just a few concepts about how he can observe of their wheel tracks to triumph on the Via Roma on Saturday, too.
Having misplaced San Remo as a neo-pro in 1988 to double Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon, Fondriest then triumphed in the identical race in 1993, whereas Nibali had a memorable solo victory in 2018.
Pidcock himself has taken Olympic MTB titles, in addition to victories at Alpe d’Huez throughout the Tour and Strade Bianche, and is coming into Milan-San Remo on the again of a string of early season victories and a sixth place general in Tirreno-Adriatico.
In 2021, Pidcock was within the thick of the motion when Jasper Stuyven attacked on the foot of the Poggio after the descent, and in 2024 he launched a late assault that introduced him throughout to breakaway Matteo Sobrero (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). But his daring last-kilometre transfer was crushed by 2023 winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), setting issues up for a dash triumph for the Dutchman’s teammate, Jasper Philipsen.
Fondriest and Nibali had been carrying two specifically designed Q36.5-made jerseys commemorating their respective victories in San Remo once they joined Pidcock for the closing phase of La Primavera earlier this week.
“San Remo is essentially the most technical of the Monuments,” Nibali stated afterwards, “To win it requires creativity, the flexibility to grab the second. You can not permit your self to determine prematurely the place you’ll assault.
“For instance one 12 months I had determined that I needed to wait and solely assault on the Poggio. So I waited, waited, waited. Then on the Poggio, I wasn’t capable of launch my assault. So you could know find out how to improvise, you want to have the ability to pay most consideration always as a result of issues can change at a second’s discover.”
The newest race content material, interviews, options, opinions and knowledgeable shopping for guides, direct to your inbox!
As for what his recommendation to Pidcock can be, Nibali stated “Follow Van der Poel or [Tadej] Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Tom is the lesser favorite of the three and must assault after them.”
“When he follows their assaults he must attempt to be ever so barely conservative so as to have the ability to assault them once more. It’s very laborious however I managed to do it just a few occasions in my profession – on the descent at Il Lombardia, at Sheffield within the [2014] Tour de France.”
“There are at all times simply two roads to victory. Either you’re a sprinter who can maintain on a bit on quick climbs of about six minutes, using above your threshold, after which all it’s important to do is dash. Or else you’re a particularly explosive rider, like [Giuseppe] Saronni, [Paolo] Bettini, [Julian] Alaphilippe (Tudor ProCycling), Pogačar, Van der Poel or Tom Pidcock,” Fondriest added.
“These are riders with a vicious change of tempo and may deal with the Poggio like a 500-600m uphill dash. To assault sooner than the Poggio you want very particular climate situations, like when [Gianni] Bugno received in 1990.
“Maybe there exists a final possibility which is just accessible to you in case you are not amongst the favourites and that’s to assault on the base of the Poggio after the descent, like Stuyven did in ’21.”
Q36.5 should not essentially the most highly effective group in San Remo this 12 months, however Fondriest argued it was doable to win the Italian Monument with out large firepower to again you up.
“The race is at all times selected the Poggio so all you want your group to do is get you to the entrance earlier than the Poggio. If you could have a powerful group, like Pogačar, perhaps you’ll be able to set a really excessive rhythm each on the Cipressa and Poggio,” he stated.
“But ultimately let’s say Pogačar assaults, Van der Poel and Pidcock observe him and all Pogacar’s group has carried out is make the race for whoever has obtained the legs… So no, you don’t want a powerful group to win Sanremo.”
As for particular recommendation for Pidcock, Fondriest stated: “Being the lighter experience when it comes to weight amongst the favourites, what he definitely shouldn’t do is assault first on the Poggio.
“He may, for instance, keep on Pogačar’s wheel, perhaps with three or 4 different riders, and go over the Poggio first and attempt to do one thing on the descent…
“But normally my recommendation to him can be: be the final to make your transfer, don’t assault earlier than Van der Poel or Pogačar have attacked.”
Should Pidcock win he can be the primary Briton to take action since Mark Cavendish in 2009, and after Tom Simpson in 1964 and Cavendish 15 years in the past, simply the third in his nation’s historical past.