 He came into the race with good form, having finished second on three stages of Tirreno–Adriatico, a stage race held before Milan–San Remo.Michał Kwiatkowski (), the defending champion, was also considered a strong favourite, as he had won the general classification at Tirreno–Adriatico.Julian Alaphilippe (), who was third in 2017, was also counted among the favourites for the race.