The late removal of the Pompeiana clib in the 2014 Milan-Sanremo, many people expect the race to be a sprinters affair.

The race is the most “sprinter-friendly” than it has been since 2008 as a result of La Manie not being included either, leaving just the Cipressa and Poggio climbs to be navigated in the races final.

OPQS rider Matteo Trentin explained however that many sprinters had not given themselves a lot of time to prepare for the race as many sprinters were initially planning to skip it due to its difficulty.

"For me it's better. The race completely changed and it's now back like in 2008. The climbers thought they had a chance but now it's for the sprinters, not for the climbers,” Trentin said. “Cavendish? I don't know if he'll start. You need a lot of kilometers. I did the Poggio without the 300 kilometres and it's nothing. It's the race distance that makes it a hard climb."

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) was the first big sprinter to announce his participation and Peter Sagan is already taking part, but Thor Hushovd (BMC) has thrown his name into the ring too:

"My plan was not to do Milan-San Remo with the Pompeiana climb,” he said. Now I'll have to sit down and see what the team is going to look like. Obviously, with the changes, it's different for me. The race will be completely different without the climb. A lot of teams are going to change their riders for that race."

The Norwegian is now 36 and this year is his last chance to win a big race and he regrets how many races have become so hard in order to remove the possibility of a sprint:

"It looks like all the race organizers just want more and more climbs in and make it harder and harder, and steeper and steeper, and then more and more it's the same riders who win the same races. So I think it's good that this race is like it was back in the day."

However, teammate Greg van Avermaet (2nd in yesterday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad) is less pleased with the route change.

"For me it's not so good, but I did this course as a neo-professional in 2007 and I was in the first group. With 300 kilometers, it's still the strong riders who will be left in front at the end, but a little bit more climbing would have been better for me," he said.

Should Cavendish turn up, the 2009 winner would surely be a favorite to win La Primavera once more.