'I want to make history' – Filippo Ganna bullish ahead of Milan-San Remo rematch with Van der Poel and Pogačar

This year's Milan-San Remo is expected to be a battle between Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel but in Italy they consider Filippo Ganna to be the third incumbent, a major contender and a potential winner.

Bicisport magazine has dubbed them the 'Tre Tenori', like the Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras opera singers. Each has a different style and presence on the biggest stage. Ganna, the 'Gigante Piemontese' hopes to use his raw power and time trial speed to again survive Pogačar's attacks on the Cipressa and Poggio and then attack alone or finally beat van der Poel in a small group sprint up the Via Roma.

Ganna represents Italy's hopes and wants to follow Vincenzo Nibali in the La Classicissima record books. He is pragmatic and grounded but ambitious.

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"If you win Milan-San Remo, you make history. I want to make history. That's what inspires me when I think about Milan-San Remo. I've gone close twice, now I want to win it," Ganna told La Gazzetta dello Sport and L'Equipe.

Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van der Poel are dominating the Spring Classics but Ganna is able to challenge them, especially at Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix. In 2023, he was second behind solo winner Van der Poel after hoping that Pogačar would chase down the Dutchman when he attacked on the upper part of the Poggio.

In 2024, he was hit by a slow puncture and a mechanical on the Poggio and finished a disappointed 40th. Last year he hurt himself like never before to chase and ultimately join Pogačar and Van der Poel. He perhaps messed up his sprint, allowing Van der Poel a few metres' advantage in the Via Roma but in both 2023 and 2025, Ganna beat Pogačar in the sprint, to confirm his true contender credentials.

"At the beginning I couldn't even do the Cipressa, then I got over it, then the Poggio too and now I can stay with the best until the finish," Ganna said, recalling how he finished fourth last and 161st on his debut in 2018, after riding with a fractured finger.

"Since then it's been nice to see my improvements year on year. I've matured mentally and physically, raising the bar each time."

Ganna opted for a more gradual build up to his peak form this year, not repeating some of the perhaps mistakes of last year.

He fought to finish second overall in Tirreno-Adriatico in 2025 but that left him fatigued for Milan-San Remo and the cobbled Classics. Like his two big rivals, Ganna has carefully calibrated his training and racing in recent weeks.

Now he can only hope that he is strong enough to again follow Pogačar and Van der Poel if and when Milan-San Remo explodes on the Cipressa.

"I didn't honestly expect Pogačar to openly attack last year. It was intense but I managed to go with them. It was one of the hardest efforts of my life," he said.

"Fortunately, being a time trialist helped me, I know how to suffer and pace my effort. Second place hurt but I was on the podium with Van der Poel and Pogačar."

Another Pogačar attack and Cipressa

Ganna is optimistic about another Pogačar attack and Cipressa showdown and hopes that Van der Poel can once again help tame the Slovenian's exuberance.

"It'd be bad news if Pogačar drops van der Poel, It'd mean that we'd only see him again at the finish," Ganna warned.

"Mathieu is one of the few riders that can control Tadej. But Milan-San Remo is impossible to predict, it can be different each time. 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."

As a time trial world champion and Hour Record holder, Ganna has more power and speed than Pogačar and Van der Poel. His dream scenario could play out in the final kilometres after the Poggio if he made a solo attack like Fabian Cancellara did to win Milan-San Remo in 2008.

Ganna has watched YouTube videos of Cancellara's attack but claimed his race strategy for Saturday will be instinctive.

He will have new Ineos Grenadiers sports director but long-time friend and teammate Elia Vivani in the team car to guide him, plus a team that includes 2017 winner Michał Kwiatkowski, Jack Haig, Connor Swift and Josh Tarling, whose own power and speed could help Ganna stay up front in the key moments.

"There's no perfect scenario for Milan-San Remo," Ganna insisted.

"San Remo is a puzzle where you have to make every piece fit. It's a unique challenge without a single solution. You've got to be able to manage every moment of the race."

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