These riders must help Tadej Pogacar secure missing win at Milan-San Remo

Tadej Pogacar hopes to finally win his first Milan-San Remo on Saturday. The world champion, in his pursuit of this elusive victory at La Primavera, cannot count on Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez, but the lineup still looks particularly strong.

The absence of Tim Wellens (who broke his collarbone in a crash at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne) and Jhonatan Narváez (multiple fractures after a hard crash at the Tour Down Under) is quite a setback for Pogacar: they were crucial last year in launching the Slovenian’s attack on the Cipressa.

With Florian Vermeersch, Brandon McNulty, Jan Christen, and—above all—Isaac Del Toro, UAE Emirates still appears to have the firepower to animate the race on the Cipressa and possibly on the Poggio. Pogacar is bursting with confidence. “I think this race suits me well, but that is also true for several other top riders,” he said on his team’s website.

“As always, I will have to deal with plenty of strong rivals, but we are used to that. We will give our maximum to achieve a good result. I hope for a fantastic day of racing, and that we can put on a great show for the fans.”

Pogacar left nothing to chance leading up to Milan-San Remo. “I have explored the Poggio many times already. I now know this climb very well. If we can make the race as hard as possible again—just like we did in Strade Bianche—anything is possible.”