Although many anticipate that Milan-Sanremo could once again finish in a big bunch sprint this year, Australian rider Robbie McEwen has decided to give the race a miss. The Team Katusha rider said on his Twitter feed late on Monday that he would not be competing in the prestigious Italian Classic.
“Home from tough Tirreno, tired but form coming up. Not riding San Remo, team putting everything on Pippo Pozzato,” he stated. “Next race Waregem.”
McEwen had a bad crash in last year’s Tour of Belgium and has spent a long time getting over what were considerable injuries. He showed strong form at the beginning of this season, taking second and third on stages of the Tour Down Under plus fourth overall, then landed a good win in the Trofeo Mallorca on February 2nd.
Since then his best showing has been fourth on stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico and then seventh on yesterday’s final stage.
McEwen is likely to have weighed up the chances of a bunch sprint finish, and also of him being there after some tough climbs along the Italian coast.
He is still building form after his problems last year and is likely to take a while longer before he’s confident in his chances in a race as tough as La Classicissima.