A tough blow for Soudal-QuickStep , which will have to do without its designated leader Paul Magnier at Milan-Sanremo on Saturday. The young French talent has not yet fully recovered from the two crashes he suffered in the final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Magnier had suffered a nasty high-speed crash during the final sprint of the seventh stage of the 'Race of the Two Seas', after having already fallen earlier in the day. Although the team had initially reported that the rider had only suffered bruises and grazes, further medical checks carried out on Monday led to the decision not to take any risks.

A prudent choice aimed at preserving the rider in view of his next big goal: the Gand-Wevelgem on March 30. The Belgian team has not yet made official who will take Magnier's place, with only three days to go until the start in Pavia.

2025 had seen Magnier emerge as one of the revelations in the early-season Classics , with a second place at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad behind Søren Wærenskjold and another second place at the Samyn Classic, beaten only by world champion Mathieu van der Poel.

The provisional Soudal-QuickStep lineup for the Classicissima includes Mattia Cattaneo, Josef Černý, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Casper Pedersen, Max Schachmann and Martin Svrček. Despite the presence of sprinter Tim Merlier in the team, the modern route of the Milan-Sanremo, with the Poggio increasingly decisive, makes his possible inclusion in the lineup unlikely.