Perfectly guided by his Groupama-FDJ teammates, Arnaud Démare was clearly ahead of the Australian Caleb Ewan, the Belgian Wout Van Aert and the Slovakian Peter Sagan in the sprint after 198 kilometers between Lombardy and Piedmont, in northern Italy. “I'm coming very, very well. I have really good legs, the team is amazing and did a wonderful job. It's perfect ”, summarized Démare, asked about his feelings before Milan-Sanremo.
“We are not afraid of anyone. I feel very good and we have very big ambitions, we are not going to hide it. The team is very good, me too, ”he then added. On a very flat course cut off from the climb to the Basilica of Superga, where Thibault Pinot won in 2018, Démare is not the only one to have sent positive signals.
Van Aert has shown he is capable of keeping up with Alaphilippe
Impressive winner of the Strade Bianche on Saturday, Van Aert showed with his third place that he was able to follow in the footsteps of Julian Alaphilippe, author of the Strade Bianche-Sanremo double last year. “I am very happy with this sprint. It's a good preparation for Saturday. In front of me there are two world class sprinters so I'm very happy with my race. This victory then this 3rd place gives me great confidence, ”said the Belgian.
Second, Caleb Ewan said for his part "happy with his form" three days before the "Classicissima", where he took 2nd place in 2018, behind Vincenzo Nibali, who we saw on Wednesday very active at the head of peloton approaching the finish line.
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