Mathieu van der Poel has said that he is not intimidated by Tadej Pogačar’s start to the season as the duo get set to go lock horns at Milan-San Remo on Saturday.
Van der Poel will be making his first road appearance of the year at the Italian Monument. The Dutchman won San Remo in emphatic fashion last March and as a result says the pressure is off as he returns to action this weekend.
In a pre-San Remo press conference, Van der Poel told the media that he watched Pogačar decimate Strade Bianche in his own season debut, but said he wasn’t fazed by lining up against the Slovenian without any racing minutes in his legs.
"For me it might be a little easier to race on Saturday, because I have already won the race," he said. "You can gamble a little more or race a little more patiently, because the pressure is a little less. Maybe that is an advantage.
"I expect a similar course to last year. Pogačar is clearly already in good shape and he realises that he has to make the race hard. I expect a fast climb of the Cipressa before the Poggio. My tactic is to follow."
"He has impressed again. But scared? No, I'm not," he added when discussing Pogačar.
"I won't be surprised if he takes off on the Poggio on Saturday, but at the same time everyone knows he wants to do it there."
The World Champion heads to Italy off the back of a long training block in Spain which he said had left him satisfied with his own physical condition.
Before beginning training for his road season he was crowned cyclo-cross World Champion once more and won nearly every race he started this winter.
"I feel really good," Van der Poel said. "I trained very hard in Spain, but I need a few races to really reach my top level. The difference with two years ago was that we now knew that this would be my first race.
"That is why we have trained really hard, to be as good as possible here but you only know how good you will be during the race. So there are some question marks, although I was able to do everything I wanted so I feel ready."
After San Remo, Van der Poel will also target the Tour of Flanders again this spring, as well as Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which he hasn’t ridden since 2020. He explained that the course wasn’t ideal for him, but he was looking forward to "giving it a try."
"The Ronde and Roubaix are in any case the races that suit me best," he told the media. "A race like Liège is of course more difficult for me, especially with men like Pogačar and [Remco] Evenepoel at the start. But it's worth a try."
After the Spring Classics are out of the way, Van der Poel explained that he is aiming to hit the Tour de France in top form after largely struggling during the race last July.
"I'm not doing very many races this spring, so they are all goals. But I expect to be at my best in the Tour. That's what I'm aiming for with the team."
