The Dutchman Mathieu Van der Poel has taken the victory this Saturday in Milan-San Remo, a race known as the first Monument of the season. The victory has a special flavor for the cyclist, since it comes 62 years after his French grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, won this same race.
UAE Team Emirates set the pace and Tim Wellens took the lead in the final stretch before handing it over to teammate Tadej Pogacar, but Filippo Ganna, Wout van Aert and Van der Poel kept in wait on the final descent.
It was then that Van der Poel launched his attack at the top of the Poggio with 5.5km to go and stormed into the lead, taking just enough of a lead to win the race, while the other three riders battled for second place in the lead. city entrance.
The Dutchman crossed the line with his arms raised after almost six and a half hours. Ganna was second ahead of Van Aert and Pogacar finished fourth. The win is Van der Poel’s third at a Monument after winning the Tour of Flanders in 2020 and 2022.
“It’s special, not just because my grandfather won it. It is a Monument that every cyclist wants to win one day”, said the Dutchman with a smile. “I can’t imagine a better scenario than this… It wasn’t as difficult as in previous years, I felt that my legs were very fresh. I knew that I wanted to place an attack at the end of the Poggio. This is a race that I really wanted to win.”
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