Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has won Milan-Sanremo after a clever and powerful ride that clinically punished the over-confidence of Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates squad.
It was a reminder - badly needed - that while Pogačar has emerged as one of the all-time stars of the sports, he is not the only show in town in the current era.
Indeed, while Pogačar put in a stinging attack near the top of the Poggio that put the small select group under pressure, it was his team mate Tim Wellens who looked stronger. In hindsight, the team should have perhaps backed the Belgian today.
Van der Poel was delighted with his win, his first of the season, coming 62 years after his grandfather Raymond Poulidor won the same race.
Advertisement
"I think everyone knew that this was a race I really wanted to win," he said. "The team really wanted to win this one. I am really happy that I succeeded today, especially how I won it. I think it’s one to remember. I felt already good on the Cipressa, and on Poggio as well.
"When I looked back, there was nobody else following, and I felt I had an attack in the legs. So I tried to time it perfectly and I managed to find a small gap. I am really happy. For sure it was one of the big goals for the season, a monument is always special."
Related News
When Wellens hit the front on the Poggio his UAE Team Emirates leader Pogačar was on his wheel and the reduced peloton was immediately split to pieces under the pressure of the Belgian rider. Wellens not only upped the pace considerably, but he had the legs to sustain his effort for a prolonged period.
While Pogačar eventually cane off his wheel and put in his big, predicted, attack he could not get rid of the best riders; Van der Poel staying with him as well as Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).
Van der Poel immediately looked like the man able to follow Pogačar most comfortably. Behind those two there was a gap of a few lengths back to Van Aert on the upper slopes of the climb, which took the longest time for him to close.
Once Pogačar had done his thing and dragged the four-man group clear, Van der Poel made his move, putting in an attack that was much stronger than Pogačar's as they took in the last few hundred metres of the Poggio and went across the top and onto the descent.
Van der Poel only had a handful of seconds on the three chasers starting the descent and while Van Aert stepped up in a bid to close the gap, he managed only to contain it rather than make and inroads into it. Gradually the gap began to extend and when they came off the descent onto the flat run-in to the finish, Van der Poel already had victory in the bag.
The trio behind combined for a time to try and bring him back, though their thoughts soon turned to preserving some energy for the finish. That resulted in the impetus going out of the chase, as Van der Poel kept the head down and drove all the way to the line for a brilliant win.
It wasn't until the final 300m that the lone leader began looking back and when he did he could see empty road, with no sign of the chasers. In the end, his winning margin was an impressive 15 seconds. Behind him, Ganna got the jump on Van Aert and Pogačar to claim 2nd place.
Van Aert took 3rd a few lengths back, with Pogačar 4th. That was a poor return for the efforts of UAE Team Emirates, on a day when Pogačar did not look anywhere near as dominant as last week when he steamrolled the opposition on his way to Paris-Nice victory, taking three stages through the week.
Today Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) saw his race ended with just over 30km to go when he was among a number of fallers in a crash caused when one of them hit a road sign and bike rack on the side of the road. Bennett's Irish team mate Ryan Mullen rode a very good race, bossing the action on the front as the race neared the Cipressa before the Poggio, though it all came to nothing in the end.
