"I lie awake at night wondering whether I'll be able to hang on"
Good morning,
These are today's quotes and interviews worth your time.
Stood out to me today: "Some teams need to start changing the rule book. Everyone thinks that to work for your teammates, you need to ride faster, so we'll see if anyone tries to block the road on the Cipressa."
¡Vamos!
🎤 INTERESTING INTERVIEWS
"Everybody's looking at me."
Tadej Pogačar on hunting the last two Monuments
The setting was Vienna's Hotel Sacher. Tadej Pogačar had just finished announcing a crypto sponsorship. Then he sat down with Cycling Weekly and talked about the races he actually cares about.
Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix are the two Monuments missing from his palmarès. Only three riders in history have won all five, and they're all Belgian: Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy, and Roger De Vlaeminck. Pogačar, already a four-time Tour de France winner and double world champion, is hunting a set that hasn't been completed in nearly half a century. He's relaxed about it. "I won some races, and it doesn't feel the same to win them again because you've already put a tick on them," he says. The missing ones are the motivation. "It's one challenge that keeps me going."
Paris-Roubaix is the more surprising target. When he debuted last spring, the approach was improvised. The reconnaissance was tacked onto his Ronde van Vlaanderen preparation; this winter, he started riding the cobbles in December, covering 160km across the sectors. His power numbers from the 2025 edition, he says, were more impressive than anything he'd produced in any other race. Then came the crash, chasing a camera motorbike into a corner while Mathieu van der Poel rode away.
He now understands why his team was nervous. "If I'm the manager of the team, I also don't want to risk everything in the pre-Tour," he says. "As we know, touch wood, it can happen so quickly in Roubaix." The second place changed the calculation inside UAE Team Emirates-XRG. "When I came second, they saw maybe we have a chance to win another Monument." On tactics, he's direct about his dilemma: "Everybody's looking at me. I'll just go with the flow, see where the race takes me, and try to gamble for the final maybe, with a small group sprint."
Milano-Sanremo presents the same structural problem. He's finished 12th, fifth, fourth, and twice third. He describes the climbs with a certain fatalism: "These days, the climbs, I would not call them climbs anymore, because we go so fast on the Cipressa and Poggio that the draft there is so important."
On legacy, Pogačar is characteristically unbothered. He scrunches his face when reminded of a quote attributed to him about wanting to be "the best in history," claiming the words were twisted. "There is so much talk about me and comparing me to Eddy etc. For me, it's complete nonsense."
"I lie awake at night wondering whether I'll be able to hang on."
Tim Merlier on returning from a knee injury that nobody could diagnose
Tim Merlier makes his 2026 debut at the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré on Sunday. It is, as he tells HLN, an experiment more than a race.
The knee problem dragged on for months because nobody could identify it. The pain would not go away, the symptoms were atypical, and there was little to see on scans. That ambiguity fed a darker spiral. "Eventually I started doubting myself, and it got in my head that the people around me or in our team might no longer believe me, because the complaints were atypical and there wasn't much to see."
He chose Monseré over Brugge-De Panne because it is the lightest race in the calendar at this point. "I want to finish and try to be there in the finale, but really standing out in the sprint seems unthinkable to me. I see it as a test run and a chance to enjoy racing, even though I know I'll suffer enormously." On the remote possibility of winning: "Then I'm a medical miracle and people are training way too much in the peloton." Gent-Wevelgem, where he finished second last year, is out. So is Paris-Roubaix.
"I lie awake at night wondering whether I'll be able to hang on. There's even a slight fear of failure." The goal now is the Belgian championship and the Tour de France. Everything between here and there is recovery.
"If we don't do that and the same thing happens as last year, the best result we can hope for is second place."
Jan Boven on Visma | Lease a Bike's strategy for Milano-Sanremo Donne
The women's Milano-Sanremo returned to the calendar last year and barely produced a race. Director Jan Boven was there and knows exactly why. He talked to WielerFlits ahead of Saturday's edition with a clear-eyed view of what needs to change.
Boven's squad last year benefited from a race that stayed closed: Marianne Vos was able to sprint for the win because nothing happened on the Cipressa or Poggio. He expects this year to be different, and says Demi Vollering's absence removes a key engine. He names the threats plainly: Elisa Longo Borghini and UAE Team ADQ are dangerous, as are Puck Pieterse and Kim Le Court.
But the problem Visma | Lease a Bike is most focused on is Lorena Wiebes. "There is a Dutch sprinter who is really strong and a real problem. Not just for us, but for everyone. To wear Lorena out, the race needs to ignite on the Cipressa." Without that, he says, "if we don't do that and the same thing happens as last year, the best result we can hope for is second place."
The plan is to keep Vos protected for as long as possible, then use her finishing speed after the Poggio. Boven is candid about the difficulty: "She can make very good decisions instinctively in the moment. But we do have with Marianne a sprinter who needs to arrive at the Poggio as fresh as possible. That's hard, but those are the fine lines you balance on." He also points to the descents as a potential differentiator. "If you know them well, if you have confidence in them and the right skill set, you are at an advantage there."
"San Remo is like a domino effect."
Matxin on Pogačar, Ayuso, transfer rumors, and the demands of modern cycling
UAE Team Emirates-XRG sporting director Matxin spoke at length with Marca during the Marbella Cycling Weekend. His explanation of why Milano-Sanremo remains so difficult for his team's leader is one of the cleaner tactical breakdowns you'll hear.
"This race, since it doesn't depend solely on strength or the physiological side, has many triggers," Matxin says. "San Remo is like a domino effect: if not absolutely everything goes perfectly, if the planning doesn't go as it should and if both the teammates and he don't follow the plan, then the whole domino falls."
On transfer rumors, he is measured but firm. Regarding the interest attributed to UAE in Paul Seixas's brother: riders using UAE bikes isn't news, contracts matter, and he won't discuss a rider who is under a two-year deal with Decathlon CMA CGM.
On Juan Ayuso's departure: "We made the decision among three parties — the team he is now at, his manager, and us — to take this path. I believe that information belongs to us and it should remain that way."
The most pointed section is on Adam Yates and Isaac del Toro. On Yates: "Adam is one of the most honest cyclists I know. If he tells you he's going to be there, he will be there." On del Toro's performance at Tirreno-Adriatico: "No coach in the world could say something could have been done better than what Isaac did."
On whether Pogačar still has room to improve: "Each year he has that margin that makes him a slightly better cyclist. And when you're the best cyclist in the world, if you also keep improving, you still have more road ahead."
🏆 THE SERGE BAGUET AWARD
Not awarded today
Wonder what The Serge Baguet Award is all about? Check it out here.
💬 QUICK QUOTES
"I think Van der Poel is going to ride away from Pogačar." — Karsten Kroon, WielerFlits, the former pro on why — unlike most analysts — he doesn't see Pogačar dropping Van der Poel, but the reverse.
"I never thought about retiring in 2028. I've signed a contract until 2030, but I could go beyond that." — Tadej Pogačar, La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"We won't see the same scenario as last year on the Cipressa every year. The wind is unfavorable and that will affect the race. I think more riders will be able to stay on." — Mathieu van der Poel, HLN, on why he doesn't expect a repeat of the 2025 Milano-Sanremo dynamic.
"It's not up to us to take responsibility. This is still more of a race for the fast guys." — Tadej Pogačar, HLN, wants us to believe that UAE Team Emirates-XRG does not plan to control Milano-Sanremo.
"I just hope to have to chase less than I did in 2025. I just hope to have something left for the sprint and to read the race better by not being in the red. That could help me." — Filippo Ganna, CyclingNews, on how he hopes to finally win Milano-Sanremo.
"I would have preferred to ride Paris-Nice at full strength for the confidence, but I'll have to make do with the legs I have. In previous years I had a better indication, now I don't. But I felt myself getting better last week. I have to believe I'll be ready just in time." — Jasper Stuyven, Sporza, the former Milano-Sanremo winner on arriving at the race short of race rhythm.
"Dylan was also f***ing good today. He rode a fantastic sprint." — Pascal Ackermann, WielerFlits, runner-up at the Bredene Koksijde Classic on winner Dylan Groenewegen.
"Some teams need to start changing the rule book. Everyone thinks that to work for your teammates, you need to ride faster, so we'll see if anyone tries to block the road on the Cipressa. That's a good tactic if you're not Tadej." — Tom Pidcock, Cycling Pro Net, on a tactical approach teams could use to neutralize Pogačar at Milano-Sanremo.
"The Turchino is a nice climb, no?" — Tadej Pogačar, CyclingNews, teasing about a 150-kilometer attack at Milano-Sanremo.
That's it for today. See you tomorrow 👋
Jay