Dutch double at Milan-Sanremo as Van der Poel and Wiebes sprint to victories
Mathieu van der Poel outsprinted Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogacar to win his second Milan-Sanremo Classic on Saturday, claiming the first Monument race of the season, while the European champion Lorena Wiebes won the first staging of a women's event since 2005.
Dutchman Van der Poel, winner in 2023, came out on top in a sprint finish after the leading trio were involved in a game of cat-and-mouse close to the line, with Ganna finishing second and Pogacar having to settle for third.
The race began in rainy conditions, but the sun greeted the riders once they reached the Ligurian coast, with an eight-man group out ahead after an early breakaway. Once the peleton upped the pace the leaders were reeled in at the bottom of the Cipressa climb, where Pogacar, aiming for his first Milan-Sanremo win, made his move with only Van der Poel and Ganna able to keep pace.
The Slovenian pushed again on the Poggio di San Remo, and while Van der Poel stuck to Pogacar's wheel, Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) looked like he had run out of gas. Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) bided his time before hitting the front in the home straight to win his seventh Monument race.
'I felt really good actually at the end, the beginning was horrible with the rain and the cold but when we came down to the coast I started to feel better,' Van de Poel said. 'Just winning Milan-Sanremo is special but beating these two incredible riders, I'm super happy and proud to be on the podium with them.'
It was a bitter defeat for Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) who also came third last year, as last season's 'Triple Crown' winner of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and World Championships failed to make his attacks count.
Van de Poel's victory made it a Dutch double as Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) outsprinted her compatriot Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) at the end of the 156km ride from Genoa.
Elisa Longo Borghini launched an attack at the bottom of the Poggio with less than two kilometres left, but the Italian was overtaken close to the line after Wiebes' teammate and world champion, Lotte Kopecky, had led the chase.
'I had to finish the teamwork off,' Wiebes said. 'I'm really grateful for how we worked as a team, and what Lotte did in the final I'm super grateful for.'
Switzerland's Noemi Ruegg (EF Education-Oatly) took third place.
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