Former Milan-San Remo winners Vincenzo Nibali and Maurizio Fondriest have long gone on a coaching recon of Italy’s spring Monument with Q36.5 chief Tom Pidcock, and given the Briton a couple of concepts about how he can apply of their wheel tracks to triumph at the By means of Roma on Saturday, too.
Having misplaced San Remo as a neo-pro in 1988 to double Excursion de France winner Laurent Fignon, Fondriest then triumphed in the similar race in 1993, whilst Nibali had a memorable solo victory in 2018.
Pidcock himself has taken Olympic MTB titles, in addition to victories at Alpe d’Huez all over the Excursion and Strade Bianche, and is getting into Milan-San Remo at the again of a string of early season victories and a 6th position total in Tirreno-Adriatico.
In 2021, Pidcock was once within the thick of the motion when Jasper Stuyven attacked on the foot of the Poggio after the descent, and in 2024 he introduced a past due assault that introduced him throughout to breakaway Matteo Sobrero (Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). However his bold last-kilometre transfer was once overwhelmed through 2023 winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), surroundings issues up for a dash triumph for the Dutchman’s teammate, Jasper Philipsen.
Fondriest and Nibali had been dressed in two specifically designed Q36.5-made jerseys commemorating their respective victories in San Remo once they joined Pidcock for the ultimate phase of Los angeles Primavera previous this week.
“San Remo is the most technical of the Monuments,” Nibali stated afterwards, “To win it requires creativity, the ability to seize the moment. You cannot allow yourself to decide in advance where you will attack.
“As an example 12 months I had made up our minds that I needed to wait and handiest assault at the Poggio. So I waited, waited, waited. Then at the Poggio, I wasn’t ready to release my assault. So you want to understand how to improvise, you want in an effort to pay most consideration always as a result of issues can trade at a second’s realize.”
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“When he follows their assaults he wishes to check out to be ever so somewhat conservative so as in an effort to assault them once more. It’s very exhausting however I controlled to do it a couple of instances in my occupation – at the descent at Il Lombardia, at Sheffield within the [2014] Excursion de France.”
“There are at all times simply two roads to victory. Both you’re a sprinter who can cling on slightly on brief climbs of about six mins, driving above your threshold, and then all you must do is dash. Or else you might be a particularly explosive rider, like [Giuseppe] Saronni, [Paolo] Bettini, [Julian] Alaphilippe (Tudor ProCycling), Pogačar, Van der Poel or Tom Pidcock,” Fondriest added.
“Those are riders with a vicious trade of tempo and will deal with the Poggio like a 500-600m uphill dash. To assault previous than the Poggio you want very particular climate stipulations, like when [Gianni] Bugno gained in 1990.
“Maybe there exists a last option which is only available to you if you are not amongst the favourites and that is to attack at the base of the Poggio after the descent, like Stuyven did in ’21.”
Q36.5 aren’t probably the most tough group in San Remo this 12 months, however Fondriest argued it was once conceivable to win the Italian Monument with out large firepower to again you up.
“The race is always decided on the Poggio so all you need your team to do is get you to the front before the Poggio. If you have a strong team, like Pogačar, maybe you can set a very high rhythm both on the Cipressa and Poggio,” he stated.
“But in the end let’s say Pogačar attacks, Van der Poel and Pidcock follow him and all Pogacar’s team has done is make the race for whoever has got the legs… So no, you don’t need a strong team to win Sanremo.”
As for explicit recommendation for Pidcock, Fondriest stated: “Being the lighter ride in terms of weight amongst the favourites, what he certainly shouldn’t do is attack first on the Poggio.
“He may just, for instance, keep on Pogačar’s wheel, perhaps with 3 or 4 different riders, and pass over the Poggio first and take a look at to do one thing at the descent…
“But in general my advice to him would be: be the last to make your move, do not attack before Van der Poel or Pogačar have attacked.”
Will have to Pidcock win he will be the first Briton to take action since Mark Cavendish in 2009, and after Tom Simpson in 1964 and Cavendish 15 years in the past, simply the 3rd in his nation’s historical past.
