Despite Peter Sagan not having won a race yet this season, his manager at Tinkoff-Saxo, Bjarne Riis, is confident the Slovak star can win a big Classic this year.

This is the longest drought Sagan has had in his career, 9 months, and the furthest into a season where he hasn’t won, with his previous streak being in 2012, when he first won on March 10 in Paris-Nice. But Riis isn’t panicking yet.

“We are still not in the classics,” Riis told VeloNews. “Other years, he has been better, winning earlier in the season, and maybe he missed a little in the classics. If he wins today or tomorrow, the story changes in a split second.”

Riis was referring to today’s Tirreno-Adriatico stage, which suits Sagan, as there are two steep climbs close to the finish, where he hopes to end a run of two consecutive second places in the previous two stages.

“I think [a win in Tirreno-Adriatico],” Riis said, “would be ideal for his confidence.”

However, with Sagan’s first big goal of the year just eight days away, Milan-Sanremo, things are not looking good for now. But Riis says the bad luck in Tirreno means nothing, as Sagan is only at the race to build form for Sanremo.

“We all [want him to win a monument], but it’s cycling; it’s not always that easy,” Riis added. “I expect him to be up there in the big races, to compete against the best. The most important thing is that he’s good. That’s the first step to be able to win or to podium.”