The final time a girls’s peloton raced at Milan-San Remo was in 2005, a 12 months earlier than 18-year-old tremendous expertise Cat Ferguson (Movistar) was born.
However, with the race’s revival now lower than 24 hours away, the Brit is primed to begin as one of many darkish horses, recent off the again of a podium on WorldTour debut.
“I’m undoubtedly feeling actually fortunate to be a part of this historic return of San Remo, there’s barely a giant title lacking from the beginning listing, apart from Anna van der Breggen, I believe, so I’m actually excited,” Ferguson informed Cyclingnews, after arriving in Italy for the race on Thursday.
“I’m feeling privileged to hitch the game presently and have all these alternatives accessible to me, I do know {that a} 12 months in the past, this race clearly wasn’t a factor, so I believe it is actually particular. Hopefully, I’ll keep in mind this race and second for the remainder of my profession.”
She’s truly affected by a minor little bit of sickness, having woken up not feeling 100% on Friday, nevertheless, is hopeful that will have cleared up forward of the beginning in Genoa.
“I’ve woken up in the present day like just a little bit ailing, so I’ll see how that goes,” she stated.
“I’m form of struggling to breathe, so I hope only a good night time’s of sleep and hopefully it is gone a bit.”
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Double junior World Champion Ferguson opened up her WWT street profession with Movistar at Trofeo Alfredo Binda final Sunday, some 18 months after she was introduced a signing for the longer term, and he or she did not disappoint.
Only former World Champion Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) managed to beat her within the dash when racing got here again collectively after 4 brutal hours of motion. It’s a end result that vindicated Movistar’s determination to signal her but in addition one which shocked the Brit, who revealed that it wasn’t all rosy earlier than she took third.
“The race itself was actually not one in every of my greatest. The complete time earlier than the ultimate dash, I used to be actually battling fuelling, it being 4 hours, and positioning,” Ferguson stated.
“It was. actually not one which I’m tremendous pleased with, however the closing dash went quite a bit higher than I ever may have thought, throughout and earlier than the race. It undoubtedly is a giant shock, however I’m not placing any strain on myself sooner or later to get outcomes like that for now, I believe it was nearly fortunate within the sense.”
The roads round Cittiglio in northern Italy have been ones that Ferguson is aware of nicely, having received the junior model of the race in 2023, nevertheless, that step as much as WorldTour was actually felt by {the teenager}.
“The step up is admittedly difficult since you take a race like Binda and it isn’t solely simply double the space, however clearly, the tempo is quite a bit tougher and a lot extra occurs in an elite race,” stated Ferguson.
“Junior races are a lot calmer, you might be on the entrance and it is nowhere close to as difficult mentally because the 4 hours of the elite race.”
Stepping up for Milan-San Remo Women
Ferguson additionally revealed that she wasn’t even presupposed to be racing on the revived one-day Classic, with the call-up solely coming a fortnight in the past. She’s additionally unsure of her actual function but however has a good suggestion of how she could also be utilised in a squad that includes Liane Lippert.
“I used to be truly by no means meant to do San Remo. They informed me possibly two weeks in the past that I might race there, and once more, I really feel simply fortunate – at 18, it is the primary version, I believe it is one thing actually particular and actually historic,” she informed Cyclingnews.
“I’m not truly positive [why she was picked late], my form is nice proper now, apart from my sickness proper now, so possibly it was that. But there wasn’t a selected form of purpose why.
“I do not absolutely know the workforce plan but, however my prediction can be that I’ll be given in all probability a job following strikes and positioning. Whatever they inform me to do, whether or not that be to dash, I’ll do this. Whether that’s for me to guide it out and provides my all earlier than the Poggio, I will even do this. My principal motivation is to make them comfortable and to fulfil that function for them.”
Having achieved a 60km recon with Movistar on Thursday, Ferguson additionally weighed in on how she feels the ladies’s race could play out, with a number of prospects wanting believable on the 156km route.
“Of course, we have now to take the lads’s race as a information, however we’re completely different to the lads’s. I believe for us, the climbs nearly grow to be extra [important] climbs than within the males’s. I believe they are going to do extra injury than they’ll do within the males’s race,” stated the younger Brit.
“I believe the group on the end is certainly going to be quite a bit smaller than what we have seen in earlier males’s races like final 12 months. The descents actually shocked me, they’re much more difficult than I assumed, and that is by way of street floor, the corners and every part.
“I do know they are saying it is the toughest race to win however best to complete, and 100% I agree with that after doing it. The climbs nearly do not appear that tough, however as a complete, it feels a particularly difficult race to form of predict the end result.”
Having impressed within the dash in Binda and beat the likes of Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Letizia Paternoster (Liv Jayco AlUla) to the road, Ferguson can not help however carry some confidence into Saturday’s race. However, she is not getting forward of herself having solely simply joined the WorldTour.
“It’s tough to get a end result like Binda and never form of have just a little little bit of hope going ahead,” she stated.
“For me, it sounds unusual, however this 12 months actually is just not about outcomes. It’s about committing to the workforce and exhibiting them that I’m a rider that’s actually an asset.”
Nonetheless, if racing would not utterly explode after the Cipressa and Poggio within the girls’s race, Ferguson is just not a rider to underestimate, already exhibiting her functionality to dash after a brutal day within the saddle at Trofeo Alfredo Binda.
“Sprint finishes could come fairly naturally to me. Instinctively, I simply find yourself discovering my approach to the entrance and find yourself positioning myself nicely, naturally,” Ferguson stated. The complete remainder of the race, I used to be all the time struggling and having to inform myself, that I wanted to maneuver ahead.
“But possibly it is as a result of I’ve had expertise dash ending earlier than, whereas I’ve by no means had expertise in a WorldTour bunch earlier than. It’s unusual to say it turns into simpler for me, however it nearly does, in a way.”
Despite understanding her skills, it can nonetheless a shock to go so nicely in her first-ever Women’s WorldTour race.
“It was by no means the end result I anticipated, to come back third, like I watched the dash again and I come into the like closing nook fairly quick. I believe I had much more momentum than the opposite ladies and I truly went fairly early within the dash, sooner than I ought to have gone in all probability,” she stated.
“But I managed to carry off the others and are available third, which is one thing within the race that when you informed me I might have completed third after how I used to be feeling and the way every part was going, I might completely by no means have believed that.”