At the age of 30, Nacer Bouhanni still dreams of winning Milan-Sanremo, but realises that winning ‘La Primavera’ is getting harder and harder for a sprinter.
The Arkéa-Samsic sprinter has finished fourth, sixth and eighth in Sanremo in the past.
“It’s even more difficult to win Milan-Sanremo these days, as there are so many puncheurs”, says Bouhanni. “It’s a great race and a race that suits me too, the final is of course very difficult with the climbs of the Cipressa and the Poggio. I think it has become even more difficult in recent years to compete for the win, as there are so many puncheurs. They all hope to ride away on the Poggio. That makes it a lot more difficult for the sprinters. It is really important to stay with them and survive, but that is very difficult.”
Bouhanni hopes to perform well again this year in the Italian spring classic. The sprinter will race the Tour de La Provence and Paris-Nice in the run-up to Milan-Sanremo. In the summer Bouhanni hopes to be at the start of the Tour de France, but the Frenchman does not want to get ahead of things yet.
“I want to win races this season, that’s the main goal. I have not thought about the Tour yet, there is still a long way to go. I now just focus on the upcoming races, starting with the Tour de La Provence. I was able to improve my condition in the Étoile de Bessèges.”
