Italian sprinter Sacha Modolo was regarded one of the cyclists who should significantly improve this year even before the 2014 season kicked off in the earnest, and the Lampre-Merida rider proves those expectations right as he shows an impressive disposition in the first races of cycling calendar.

Having won an mind-boggling number of four races this season, particularly Trofeo Palma, Trofeo Ses Salines and stages at Tour de San Luis and Volta as Algarve, the Italian sprinter has spoken exactly in the same tone as Tom Boonen yesterday, claiming that he will be ready for the Milan-San Remo regardless of whether the newly inserted ascent of la Pompeiana will eventually feature in its route or not.

As it was recently announced that the descent following la Pompeiana is currently closed due to a landslide and the local officials are expecting the road surface covering the climb to be too dangerous this time of the year – La Classicissima will be held on March 23 this season, Tom Boonen shared his opinion that coming edition of Milan-San Remo might be the last occasion for the sprinters to claims a victory in the Spring Classic.

Boonen also believed that the confusion concerning the route of Milan-San Remo 2014 edition would prevent the pure sprinters from being in the top disposition for that event if the final decision of not including la Pompeiana was made, however, Modolo definitely denies such assumptions.

What’s more, even though the last climb being situated only 7km from the finish line would rule out the chances of the sprinters like Mark Cavendish or Marcel Kittel to be in the mix, the Lampre-Merida rider claims he will be ready to stay in the group on the ascents in order to decide the race in the final sprint.

“They’re talking about it a lot but I’m not letting it affect me. It makes no difference,” Modolo told Gazzetta dello Sport of the Pompeiana.

“It was planned to be there and I’m working to get to March 23 in top condition and capable of staying up there on the climbs.”

Modolo finished in a surprise 4th place at Milan-San Remo in 2010, his debut season as a professional, and he believes that the great difficulty of the race lies in its distance rather than its climbs, new or existing.

“The difficulty of the race depends on how we approach it. And it’s still 300 kilometres long. The selection is natural,” Modolo said.

And then he added some other important factor…

“And if I keep going like this…”

Being one of the most improved and successful riders in the beginning of the 2014 season, Modolo credited his successes to his move from Bardiani-CSF to Lampre-Merida, where he receives a high quality lead-out letting his excel in the sprints as never before.

“I needed the responsibility of a big team,” he said.

“I’ve never considered myself a champion. But when you see real champions ready to work for you, something moves inside of you.”

Italian sprinter praises his new team-mates, especially Rui Costa, for playing the important role in his most recent victories and admits he feels overwhelmed by having riders of his class supporting him in the races.

“Kwiatkowski attacked hard, and Rui Costa, Petacchi and I went after him,” Modolo said.

“Rui led me out brilliantly, and I passed him with 100 metres to go.”

Modolo will continue his Milan-San Remo build-up with Roma Maxima and Tirreno-Adriatico. The 26-year-old won ten races in 2013, more than any other Italian, but with four wins to his name in the opening month of racing, he is on course to better that tally this time around.

“It seems almost like it’s my year, yes, but it’s still very early,” Modolo said.

“It’s like there’s magic in the air because everything we say on the team bus in the morning comes to pass.”