Alessandro Petacchi says that Mark Cavendish could be unbeatable in Milan-Sanremo tomorrow if he makes it to the Poggio with three OPQS teammates in the group. Petacchi is now 40 but is having a great year, with second place behind Cavendish at the sixth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico the highlight of his return from retirement. 

"I'm at the race to support my teammates, Cavendish in particular," Petacchi told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We're a very strong team: Stybar, Kwiatkowski, Renshaw, Trentin and me. If Mark has three of us near him on the Poggio, he'll become unbeatable. Did you see the sprint in Sant'Elpidio? Even before the crash, people were losing the wheels. We're going really well."

"Mark is our leader and I'm convinced that he will be there. But if the team needs me, I'm ready. Tirreno gave me an important confirmation. I know how to take my responsibility and I've never betrayed [team orders]. I'm setting out as if I was aiming to win, but I'll do whatever the team asks of me," Petacchi said.

"If I'm with the first riders coming down the Poggio, it will already be very satisfying. If I succeed in leading out Cav with 180 metres to go, it will be like I won myself. Then, if I were to finish first - it would be a fine mess."

Petacchi knows how different a sprint in Sanremo is, after going too early in 2004 and being beaten into fourth by riders such as Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel. But in 2005, he calmly dispatched Danilo Hondo and Thor Hushovd to win.

"You've got one card to play and you pay if you get it wrong. You have to stay concentrated and hidden in the peloton right up to the decisive moment," said Petacchi, who explained the difference between the race's two final climbs.

"On the Poggio, even if you're tired, you can defend yourself. The important thing is to take it in front because otherwise on the hairpins at the bottom you get swept aside. On the other hand, on the Cipressa, if you don't have the legs, you get dropped. It's ideal for riders like me to start it in the top ten and then let yourself drop back a bit."

He will hope to use his experience to get Cavendish his second win in La Primavera.