Filippo Ganna is setting the bar excessive for 2025, with prime leads to Paris-Roubaix, Milano-Sanremo and the Tour de France amongst his targets.
The Ineos Grenadiers racer is at present coaching within the Canary Islands with director Leonardo Basso. But in his head he’s already using over the capi of Sanremo and the cobbles of the Hell of the North, with July in France one other massive purpose.
Ganna has by no means gained in any of his three massive races for the primary half of 2025, he informed Bici.Pro. But the ultra-versatile rider with a number of World time trial titles, the Hour Record and stage wins within the Giro d’Italia to his identify has each intention of fixing that this yr.
The 28-year-old Italian recognised the difficulties of his challenges, notably given the various nature of the terrain, with Paris-Roubaix a very idiosyncratic type of course.
“Roubaix is a unique sport, in my view it is not biking. It’s a mix between hurting your self and struggling an important deal, however biking is one thing else,” he informed Bici.Pro.
“However, it is a race that’s within the coronary heart of many athletes – each within the current day peloton, previous racers and amongst future generations as nicely.”
A participant in Paris-Roubaix 4 occasions, Ganna has taken half within the Queen of the Classics 4 occasions, his outcomes steadily enhancing to a career-best sixth in 2023. In 2024, together with his eyes firmly set on the Olympics, he didn’t participate.
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“It’s a savage race, and you need to care for each final element to complete with the perfect. But then there is a man like Sonny [Colbrelli, 2021 winner – Ed.] who did all of it in his personal manner and who managed to win the primary time he turned up.”
“Whatever the race, whether or not it is a Classic or anything, the instinctive a part of you comes out. So you need to be cool and calculating, however different occasions you need to observe your coronary heart.”
Ganna won’t change the bike setup an excessive amount of for targets as totally different Sanremo and Roubaix, saying that within the French Monument he’ll change to barely broader tyres, further handlebar tape and gel to ease the consequences of the cobbles’ vibrations on his arms.
After that there might be a return to France in the summertime for a really totally different type of racing, with the Tour’s first time trial on stage 5 in Normandy one choice that naturally suits Ganna’s skills. The second TT stage within the Pyrenees is uphill, so won’t be a goal, however Ganna just isn’t ruling out success on different phases, both.
“The solely factor that San Remo, Roubaix and the Tour have in widespread for me is that I’ve by no means gained them. Not a single stage, nothing in any respect. So in that sense, I’m a bit behind and I hope that 2025 would be the yr by which I can lastly tick off these three races,” he informed Bici.Pro.
Ganna is ready to start out the 2025 season on February 5 on the Étoile de Bességes in France, a race he has participated in twice, in 2021 and 2022, selecting up a complete of three stage wins. More success there could be welcome, however his key ambitions for 2025 are a lot additional down the road – and in Ganna’s thoughts at the least, his prime three targets of his season are already standing out very clearly on the horizon.