This year's Milan-San Remo was expected to have a strong tailwind along the Mediterranean coast on Saturday afternoon, and many racers and teams decided to race quickly and selectively.

On Wednesday and Thursday, several racers and teams made their final reconnaissance of Cipressa and Poggio, enjoying the spring-like weather and temperatures.

Saturday's race forecast calls for similar conditions with higher wind speeds along the coast.

The riders will start in Abbiategrasso with the sun coming out and temperatures around 8℃. There will be a slight headwind on the plains leading to Turchino, where early braking will help build a steady lead.

As the race approaches the Mediterranean coast near Genoa, the weather will change from Italian winter to spring. By the time the Milan-San Remo peloton turns right and begins its 130-km run toward Via Roma, temperatures will be near 15°C.

There will be a slight crosswind for a while, but after the Finale Ligure with 85 km to go, the tailwind will increase and may reach 30 km/h near San Remo.

The Director Sportif and its performance staff are monitoring the weather so that they can assess the expected race flow and fine-tune their strategy.

"There will definitely be a tailwind, and a very strong tailwind. That means it will be a very, very fast race, a super-fast race," Movistar's Max Chandri, who has come close to winning Milan-San Remo in his racing career, told Cycling News.

"Some teams want a hard race and it will be even faster. Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates want a hard and fast race from the bottom of the Chipressa. Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates will hurt and drop sprinters on Chipressa, isolating Pogacar's rivals.

"Poggio will again be the decisive point and Pogacar will have learned his lesson from attacking too much at the bottom of the hill last year. The tailwind along the coast will turn into a strong crosswind and even a headwind on some sections of the poggio.

Movistar has Fernando Gaviria as its protected rider for Milan-San Remo, so the hope is that his attack on Poggio will be offset and lead to a sprint finish on Via Roma. Movistar's lineup also includes Ivan Garcia Cortina and Alex Aramburu.

"As always, Milan-San Remo is a very simple and straightforward race tactically, but very difficult to predict. 'Given the weather, we expect a fast race and an attack on the classic Poggio. After that, you never know what will happen. That's the charm of Milan-San Remo."