Tadej Pogačar’s presence on the Strade Bianche start line on Saturday will change nothing for the defending champion, Tom Pidcock, according to his Ineos Grenadiers coach.
Pidcock returns to Tuscany this weekend after emphatically winning the one day Italian Classic 12 months ago. This time round, he’ll go up against Pogačar, who won Strade Bianche himself two years ago, in a similar fashion; both won from 50km solo attacks.
Kurt Bogaerts told Cycling Weekly on Thursday that the presence of the Slovenian two-time Tour de France champion doesn't mean that Ineos need to do anything differently.
"No, I don't think that changes anything,” he said. "You just need to try to be the best you can be on the day, you try to have your team the best it can be on the day, and Pogačar there or not, I don't think it changes a lot.
"In races of this level, when you aim to try to do a good result, you try to be on your best and I don't think that changes anything. You start from yourself as an individual and as your team to be as prepared as good as you can and the same as last year. During the race you deal with your opponents and that's it.”
Bogaerts explained that returning to the race as the defending champion adds little by way of extra pressure for Pidcock.
"He proved last year that he is able to win this race and I don't really think that adds more pressure, it's more a confirmation that you're able to win a certain level of race and the race that he was really aiming for,” he said. “I think that it's more of a relief that he won this race already and I think it's a positive situation for him, I don't think it adds any pressure.
"It's a race he really likes, it fits with his characteristics and it's always been a race from the start of his pro career that he was looking forward to. The first year he rode it, he was quite good already, and that just gave him motivation and confirmation. So it will be a race that I think I see him doing many times because he just loves the characteristics of this race and it's good fun for him.
"It's a good fit. It's a very hard race with some technical parts. It's iconic and consists of many things he likes as a cyclist.”
After an explosive start to the Classics season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last weekend, in which Pidcock finished eighth, Bogaerts said he is expecting Strade Bianche to unfold in a similarly high octane fashion.
He said: "I think we've seen recently that the races are very aggressive and I expect nothing less [on Saturday]. So you need to be prepared for that as a team, not only Tom, but as a team.
"I think if you look at last Saturday after 44 kilometres I think there was a 24 man group up the road. We were represented with four riders so that gave us a good boost. I think that's a little bit how the current racing is going and this one is harder, with more altitude metres and distance.”
Ineos Grenadiers head into the race with a team full of firepower. As well as Pidcock, Magnus Sheffield will race on Saturday after recently signing a new contract with the team. Thymen Arensman, Kim Heiduk, Salvatore Puccio, Michał Kwiatkowski, and Geraint Thomas make up the rest of the squad, with the latter making his debut at the race.
"He brings a lot of experience and calmness… the general role G plays all the time is a very positive addition to the group. We're very pleased with that and he will play that role on Saturday for sure,” Bogaerts said.
