Warren Barguil, Team Sunweb’s blossoming Tour de France leader, will not start Milano-Sanremo Sunday due to an injury sustained at Paris-Nice. His Dutch team announced the news Thursday, noting that Søren Kragh Andersen will replace the Frenchman on its roster.
The 2017 Milano-Sanremo was to be Barguil’s first start in the season’s longest race. More suited to the climbs, Barguil, 25, was competitive in the 2016 Ardennes classics, finishing 15th at Flèche Wallonne, ninth at Amstel Gold Race, and sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He was also eighth at the season’s final monument race, Il Lombardia, in Italy.
Team staff did not indicate that the ankle injury would be a significant setback. “Warren has developed an ankle injury, possibly tendinitis of the peroneus muscle, during Paris-Nice,” team physician Anko Boelens said. “We are taking him out of Milano-Sanremo to undertake further testing and to make sure that the injury does not get worse. A couple of days off the bike will give the injury the necessary time to recover and Warren should be able to resume training after that.”
Sunweb’s Milano-Sanremo ambitions rest on Austrailian Michael Matthews, a newcomer to the team, who will be a favorite on Saturday.
Team Sunweb for Milano-Sanremo 2017
Søren Kragh Andersen (Dk)
Nikias Arndt (G)
Roy Curvers (Nl)
Tom Dumoulin (Nl)
Simon Geschke (G)
Michael Matthews (Aus)
Tom Stamsnijder (Nl)
Albert Timmer (Nl)
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