Already the first Irish woman to ride and complete Paris-Roubaix, Mia Griffin goes in another Monument on Saturday, when she will become the first Irish rider to start Milan-Samremo.
On the eve of the race she spoke to stickybottle from Italy, saying she was intent on becoming more versatile this year than "being a pure sprinter", adding Milan-Sanremo would mark the start of a really busy part of her season.
"This is what it's all about," she said of the prestige of Milan-Sanremo, where she will line out with World Tour team Roland. "I'm really excited and I feel like I have not race in ages.
"So I'm dying to get the bulk of my season now underway, because after this we have a lot more racing. I feel like I'm caged up and ready," she laughed.
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"It's awesome because it would be one of those races, one of the monuments, that would be the most exciting, the most glamorous. The ones where you're saying 'wow, that would be so cool if you could win that one'. So to have it in women's cycling is so cool. It's really cool to be part of it, but to do well in the race would be great.
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"This year I want to try and make myself… Not just the one trick pony, not just a pure sprinter. So it's just about seeing how that plays out this year. I've worked really hard with training and everything to try and build my engine for the races that are a bit harder.
"I want to transition to be a bit more versatile. I'm feeling good, pretty fresh and excited to do this. I think it'll be quite a nice race. The dynamic of the race in comparison to the men's race will be interesting. I think we'll race it's very differently."
Griffin said the women's race would likely see the final unfold much earlier than in the men's event. She believe the three ascents - Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta - could play a significant role in shaping the final outcome, long before the Cipressa and Poggio.
"I think it will be super aggressive on the climbs, and with less speed going in than the men, I think that will change the dynamic of how we ride them," she said.
Her team would likely try and get some riders in a breakaway and, for Griffin, it would be about " trying to survive the climbs" towards working herself into a position to sprint from.
Looking ahead, she tackles Classic Brugge-De Panne (1.WWT) next Thursday, saying in this phase of the season it was perhaps the race she was most focused on. There follows Gent Wevelgem on Sunday week before a two-week racing trip to El Salvador.
