Mark Cavendish is to contest the classic Milan-San Remo race in Italy this weekend.
The Spring Classic is one of the most prestigious events on the cycling calendar - as well as being the longest single stage race at 298 kilometres that pro riders undertake during their season.
For the first time in several years the race will finish on the iconic Via Roma, the event’s ‘classic finale’ which should end with a sprint, therefore suiting the likes of Cav who is fired up for Sunday.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly, the Etixx Quick-Step rider said: ‘All the greatest wins have been on the Via Roma. That’s what I’ve been saying, this finish is the San Remo I dreamt of when I was a kid.
‘Does my other win mean less? No. The Via Roma finish is what I grew up watching, though. That’s the one I dreamt of.’
That victory came in 2009 in the 100th edition of the race when he became only the second British rider to win the Spring Classic after the legendary Tom Simpson in 1964, pipping Germany’s Heinrich Haussler in a photo finish.
Cav’s preparations have not been ideal recently, with a bout of illness shortly before last week’s Tirreno Adriatico somewhat slowing down the early-season momentum he had built up.
His chances were certainly not helped last week when he suffered a mechanical with his bike which caused a crash in the peloton.
Having said that, he is still the most prolific UCI rider thus far this season with six victories to his name.
What condition Cav is in heading into Sunday remains to be seen: ‘I really don’t know my condition after the virus. In Tirreno-Adriatico, you are under the weather and this year wasn’t a race you could ride into, it got harder and harder.
‘It’s hard to tell if I’m tired from the race.
‘Stopping a early gives me an extra day, which is still enough time to see where I’m at before Milan-San Remo.’
Fellow Manxman Peter Kennaugh was also expected to line up for Sunday’s race in Italy, but has been forced to pull out with injury.
The Team Sky rider’s spring programme has been disrupted in recent weeks, having pulled out of the Strade Bianche and Tirreno Adriatico races after team-mate and leader Chris Froome withdrew through illness.
Like Cavendish, Kennaugh’s early-season form has been excellent, impressing in the Santos Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia before riding to a superb sixth place overall in the Vuelta a Andalucia in Spain last month.
However, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist has suffered a hip injury which has somewhat curtailed his spring programme. It is unclear how long he will be out for but he is still provisionally down to ride in several other races in the coming weeks, including the Tour of Flandres, the Amstel Gold Race and the Liège-Bastogne-Liège event.
While Kennaugh won’t be in action on Sunday, one rider who will feature is team-mate and Onchan resident Ben Swift. Having claimed a brilliant third-place finish in last year’s edition of the Milan-San Remo in his debut, the Yorkshireman should feature heavily towards the end of the race and perhaps even better his 2014 result.
Speaking to www.teamsky.com Swift said: ‘Milan-San Remo was always a race that suited me on paper. It was my first time doing it last year and I performed well there. That gave me the confidence to be able to target it this year and have it as an aim.
‘I know just because I’m targeting it and been working towards it doesn’t mean I’m going to get a result – it’s a really difficult race to get a result in. I’ve done everything I can and I’ve trained as well as I can. I’m not sure I could have done anything different so we’ll see what comes at the weekend.’