Simon Gerrans has openly admitted that he is looking past Sanremo and more towards the hilly Ardennes Classics. 

Despite being the 2012 Sanremo winner, the 33-year-old Australian is determined to perform well in the Ardennes.

“It’s all about focusing on the Ardennes right now,” Gerrans told VeloNews. “We still have five, six weeks to go. I had a good rest after the Australian races, and now I am in a rebuilding phase.”

He has had great success at Amstel Gold, with third place as recently as last year and he has been in the top 10 in Liege-Bastogne-Liege a few times two, with sixth his best finish in 2009.

He has already won this year, in the Australian National Road Race, as well as Overall, Stage 1 and the Sprints Jersey at the Tour Down Under. His focus was on Sanremo but due to the route change, the race is less favorable for him and he had changed his focus to the Belgian races.

“The more selective the final, the better it is for me. It is what it is,” he continued. “I will still race it and throw my hat in the ring, but it’s a lot less likely. We’re back to the course from 2007, with a more traditional finish for the sprinters. It’s a lot more likely it will be a bunch sprint with some sprinters there.” This came after the removal of both the Pompeiana and La Manie climbs.

Orica-GreenEdge will now turn to 2011 Sanremo winner Matt Goss and young talent Michael Matthews to lead the team.

Gerrans is currently at Paris-Nice but is well out of contention for a GC win but he insists he was never there for that in the first place.

“On paper, it’s a nice looking race for me, but there are other elements. I really suffer from allergies, and the further south we go in France, the worse it gets for me,” he said. “There are a lot of things you don’t see on paper. I had a good rest after the races in Australia, and now I’m in a rebuilding phase.”

Gerrans is well suited to the Ardennes Classics as he is one of the smartest riders in the peloton as well as packing a fast sprint both on the flat and uphill. When he says he wants the Ardennes Classics, his rivals should without a doubt be wary.