Teammates Jasper Philipsen and Alpecin Deceuninck stayed in Italy before Saturday's Milan-San Remo, riding the Poggio climb several times in a mid-week route reconnaissance.

Philipsen won two sprint finishes on Tirreno-Adriatico, the other coming in a close second behind Fabio Jacobsen. On Sunday in San Benedetto del Tronto, he won a week of hard racing and three mountain stages, but he was dismissive of suggestions that he is currently the best sprinter in the world.

Philipsen knows that if Tadej Pogacar, Tom Pidcock, Wout Van Aert, and his own teammate Mathieu Van Der Pol decide to attack in Cipressa and Poggio, even the best sprinter in the world may not win Milan-San Remo We know that.

"It probably won't be a sprint race this year, but you never know," said Philipsen.

"Maybe it's naive to think that, but you really don't know in Milan-San Remo. If you don't have hope, or if you don't try, it will never happen."

"It's a 300-km race, maybe it's all for naught, but there are small chances.

Philipsen will ride the final Milan-San Remo section and study the final Poggio climb. If he can close the gap to the attackers on the Poggio descent, he may have a chance in the finish sprint. Such scenarios have happened often in one of the most balanced races in pro cycling.

"I will be taking part in the Milan-San Remo Recon on Wednesday, so I will be riding Poggio three times. It would take me three years to do that in a race, so it's good to ride it a lot in training and get some experience."

After more than 30 hours of racing in Tirreno-Adriatico and sprinting on Sunday on tired legs, Philipsen is also looking forward to a recovery week before Saturday's seven-hour race.

"This week I'll rest, drink cappuccinos, and eat Italian crostata cake. And I hope to build my legs for Saturday," he said, describing van der Poer and the rest of his teammates as "us."

Philipsen and van der Poer celebrated another victory on Sunday at San Benedetto del Tronto after their first win at Foligno. Van der Pol played a key role in the two sprints, as he rode fast through the final curve in Foligno and lined up alongside the peloton in the last kilometer in San Benedetto del Tronto.

The work was intended not only to help Van der Pol improve his form, but also to help teammate Alpecin Deceuninck win his first race in 2023.

"I'm going to ask the team to have Mathieu with me in every race I enter," Philipsen joked.

"That's not possible, but I'm really glad he's doing that job and doing a really good job. He needed this race, but he will be ready for the Classic.