Philippe Gilbert of Lotto Soudal will take on the fifth monument in Milan-San Remo on August 8. Gilbert has won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour de Flanders, and Il Lombardia, and last year he won Paris-Roubaix, but he has been away from winning San Remo many times, with third place in 2008 and 2011 being the best he has done.

"Of course I want to win, but my season is not just about Sanremo," Gilbert said in a video conference Tuesday, according to Het Nieuwsblad. I'm not going to bet my life on that race. If I don't succeed, I will survive. It is not easy to win in Sanremo. It's a race with few chances."

As to whether the change in race dates, from the usual March to August, will change anything, the 37-year-old said: "I'm not afraid of the heat in August, but I know from experience that the wind blows harder at the end of the summer."

He added: "I'm not afraid of the heat in August, but I know from experience that the wind blows harder at the end of summer.

"I have to be at my best from the beginning of the season to the end," Gilbert added. My first goal is Milan-San Remo, so my first race isn't Milan-San Remo." So I'll be riding the Strade Bianche on August 1 and the Milano-Torino on August 5.

Meanwhile, Gilbert's new teammate John Degenkolb, the 2015 Milano-San Remo winner, will join the Belgian WorldTour for 2020 but will not be on the start line for La Classissima in Milan on August 8.

Degenkolb said Tuesday that San Remo is a special race for him, but that he is focused on his late-season goals, including "spring" classics such as the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in October. [According to Het Laatste Nieuws, "Emotionally, I wanted to go to San Remo.

Instead, Degenkolb will compete in the Tour de Pollogne (August 5-9) and the Tour de Wallonie (August 16-19) and, like Gilbert, will be part of the Lotto Soudal 8 rider squad for the Tour de France, August 29-September 20. Australian sprinter Caleb Yuan is also on the team, and Yuan won three stages in his 2019 Tour debut.

"I have my place in the leadout, but I won't be at the back of Caleb," Degenkolb explained. At the same time, he noticed that this spring he was able to climb better than ever before." My initial focus is to help Caleb, but I also want to create opportunities for myself."