5 conclusions from Milan-San Remo

With the dust settled on Milan-San Remo for another season it's time to pick apart the main talking points from another pulsating edition of the Italian one-day Classic.

With Jasper Philipsen winning his first Monument, much attention will turn to his contract situation but after such loyal service from Mathieu van der Poel, the Belgian will be hard-pressed to find the same level of support on another team.

We also take a look at UAE Team Emirates' telegraphed tactics after they hinted at a possible assault on the Cipressa days before the race. Tadej Pogačar completed the podium and arguably got the best result possible in the finale, but did the rest of his team come up short?

We also pick apart the performances from Michael Matthews, Ineos Grenadiers, Lidl-Trek and look at the absence of Wout van Aert.

Jasper Philipsen needs to put career above salary

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Jasper Philipsen on the top step of the podium at Milan-San Remo

Heading into Milan-San Remo, much of Jasper Philipsen’s pre-race press had been dominated by his contract situation. On the market for 2025, the Belgian rider had linked up with Alex Carera, one of the savviest and most influential rider agents in the sport in a bid to bolster his value and secure interest from teams.

The Italian agent currently represents Tadej Pogačar and has worked with the likes of Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome in the past, so securing his services was a message of intent from Philipsen. Speaking to the media, and letting the world know that he was tied to Carera, was a clever ploy by Philipsen, especially given the fact that not every WorldTour team even knew the Belgian was on the market in the first place.

Following his first Monument win, the natural consensus would be an increased valuation on Philipsen’s position. His stock has never been higher but while his value has jumped, so too has his need to stay at Alpecin.

The fact is that no other rider in the world could have done what Van der Poel did on Saturday, which was follow Pogačar on the Poggio, sit tight on the descent and then charge down Matej Mohorič, Matteo Sobrero and Tom Pidcock to set up a sprint for his teammate Philipsen. Without Van der Poel, Philipsen doesn’t win Milan-San Remo.

The Dutchman effectively nullified most of the front group and left Philipsen with the task of beating Matthews and Pedersen – the other remaining sprinters – for the win.

No other team on the planet can offer Philipsen such a domestique de luxe in those situations, and whilst Van der Poel will naturally become the unilateral leader in the Belgium Classics, Philipsen can still benefit from that scenario too. Stijn Devolder, a much more limited rider than Philipsen, won two editions of the Tour of Flanders by realising that his best chances of victory came when he had Tom Boonen’s coattails to surf. Other teams will offer Philipsen greater riches, of that there’s no doubt, but no team will give him such a unique chance of success. And it’s not just in the Classics, it’s at the Grand Tours too, where the combination of Van der Poel and Philipsen is almost unbeatable as a sprint tandem – and it all comes within a team that has no interest in fighting for GC.

Unless Patrick Lefevere comes waving a blank cheque, and the promise of building a Classics and sprint train around him, Philipsen should forego the salary and put his palmarès first. It’s easier said than done, of course, but it’s the best decision if he wants to continue to build his trophy cabinet.

Tadej Pogačar’s brilliance saves UAE Team Emirates

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Conductor in chief: Tadej Pogacar controls his team at Milan-San Remo

In 2012, in a remote Surrey hotel, the British team for the men’s Olympic Games gave individual press conferences. Rider after rider sat with the media and telegraphed the outcome of the race and how they would all ride for Mark Cavendish before carrying him towards victory on the Mall to kick-start GB’s home games.

“We announced we're riding for Cav, we've made it public, we've almost pointed ballpark, Babe Ruth style, in how we're going to do it,” was how one rider described it at the time.

Needless to say, it didn’t quite go to plan. The British team wasted their resources on the nine laps through the Surrey hills before every nation who had read the gameplan plan in the media hit them hard on the final climb. GB were left floundering and Alexandre Vinokourov beat Rigoberto Urán in a two-man sprint.

Twelve years later, substitute Great Britain for UAE Team Emirates, and the men’s race in 2012 for Milan-San Remo, and you can see the parallels of history at work. 

Throughout the week leading into Milan-San Remo Pogačar’s team addressed the media, talking up their chances, hinting at their gameplan and providing the opposition with insight into how the race might unfold. Granted, this is Milan-San Remo, and there are just a few ways to skin this cat, but telling your rivals that a possible sub-nine-minute Cipressa has been discussed, and then telling the media you’ll also attack on the Poggio only makes the target on your back even bigger and the margin for error astonishingly small.

Tactically, UAE Team Emirates were far from a disaster. However, as Tim Wellens stated, they put too much work into setting the pace on the Capi, and when it came to the Cipressa they were forced to ease back as Isaac del Toro wilted after setting a ferocious pace. Only Wellens was left with Pogačar on the Poggio, but would one more rider have really made the difference? Possibly, and there are questions about where Marc Hirschi and a couple of others disappeared to, but Pogačar couldn’t have made the race any harder than he did, and his performance deserves little in the way of critical scrutiny.

His first acceleration was immense but his second kick was arguably better. With exactly 6km to go he had the impetus and tactical knowledge to see that Van der Poel was sandwiched between the wall and Filippo Ganna. Pogačar used that opportunity of separation to come around the Italian, distancing himself from Van der Poel in the process, and then attacking once more. By the time the Slovenian hit the front, he had five riders between himself and Van der Poel.

The move eventually proved to be unsuccessful, with Van der Poel closing down everything in sight but third in Milan-San Remo represented the best Pogačar could have hoped for once the descent of the Poggio had been completed.

UAE were far from perfect, and the fact that they relied so heavily on a neo-pro for the majority of the Cipressa underlines that something wasn’t right, but Pogačar delivered an almost faultless performance and couldn’t have ridden the Poggio any faster or smarter.

Michael Matthews still has time…just

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Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) at the finish of Milan-San Remo

With 45 metres to go, it looked as though Michael Matthews was about to take his long-awaited first Monument victory and join former teammates Matt Goss and Simon Gerrans on the list of Milan-San Remo winners.

On the Via Roma, just as Pidcock’s flame was extinguished by the surging Van der Poel, the Australian wrapped himself around the outside of Jasper Stuyven and dove for the line. On his right was the tiring figure of Mads Pedersen but just as the line approached and victory was within sight, Philipsen narrowly edged Matthews into second for yet another podium place.

That’s now three visits to the podium of Milan-San Remo without a win for the 33-year-old in a career that also includes three similar visits to the podium at the World Championships.

For a rider who has won stages in all three Grand Tours, and picked up a green jersey at the Tour de France, there is a nagging sense that the Australian will end his career on the cusp between excellent and truly exceptional. If there was a properly recognised cycling hall of fame Matthews would be a perennial candidate but just fall short of becoming an inductee. With that comes a great sense of melancholy. After all, Matthews competed against Peter Sagan when the Slovakian was at the peak of his powers, and then just as that rider’s influence waned, up popped Van der Poel and Pogačar. And yet despite that, Matthews has still provided some of the most exciting and gutsy racing of the last ten or so years. His win in Mende at the Tour in 2022 was the best Australian Tour stage win of the 21st century, whilst his dismantling of Marcel Kittel to win green was just as gripping. For a rider who has often been wrongly pigeonholed as a pure sprinter, Matthews has forged a career as one of the most versatile athletes in the sport.

On Saturday, the Australian would have been well within his rights to close the door on Philipsen – not enough to cause an incident, but just enough to incite a moment of hesitation. Instead, he veered further into the middle of the road, allowing the Belgian to reach his full speed and win. It’s admirable, the way in which Matthews races, and of course winning the right way is more important than simply winning, but with perhaps one or two more years left, time is becoming an increasing factor.

Maybe it will all come together at the Olympics in Paris, maybe it will happen at the Worlds or even at next year’s Milan-San Remo but opportunities are starting to run out. In sport there will always be a soft spot for that plucky underdog, the type of athlete who never gives in despite being put on the canvas time and time again. Matthews will get up after this latest Milan-San Remo disappointment, and no doubt take the positives from the encounter. The only certainty at this stage is the fact few within the peloton would begrudge one of the sport’s most likeable figures a victory his talents unquestionably deserve.

Wout Van Aert’s calculated risk

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Christophe Laporte was MIA at Milan-San Remo

At the finish on Saturday, Visma-Lease a Bike were quick to point out that Olav Kooij raced to a promising 14th. It was, no question, a valiant result for a Monument debutant but one rider in the top 59 was scant consolation for a team that also contained the European champion Christophe Laporte and started the year with the ambition of winning one of cycling’s five biggest races. It’s clear that without Wout van Aert in their ranks, Visma weren’t taking Milan-San Remo too seriously, and that they instead aligned themselves with a more robust Classics campaign once the circus returned to Belgium.

Van Aert’s record in Milan-San Remo has been excellent with one win, two third-place finishes and no lower than eighth in his five starts, so eschewing another appearance for an altitude camp is something of a calculated risk. If it pays off in either the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix it’ll be a case of vindication all round but the jury is still out at this point.

What’s also becoming increasingly likely is that Van Aert will start the Giro d’Italia with the GC on his mind. Everyone around the Visma camp is still talking it down right now but when you look at the profile of the first week, there’s no way that the Belgian will simply give up time for no reason. He’s going for GC at the Giro until it’s no longer achievable. 

Just look at the route, with 13 relatively easy – by Giro standards – days and almost 70km of time trialling. The stage 2 climbs might cause some time gaps but stages 3, 4 and 5 are for sprinters, before the first time trial allows Van Aert back into the frame. There’s a gravel stage that will suit the Belgian too, and while Pogačar will likely light up the race on stage 8 to Prati di Tivo, there are only two more difficult stages before the final week begins. If you want to tire Pogačar out before the Tour then it makes complete sense to keep as many cards in the game at the Giro for as long as possible.

Lidl-Trek and Ineos Grenadiers progress

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Tom Pidcock came close to winning his first Monument at Milan-San Remo

Both Lidl-Trek and Ineos Grenadiers missed out on the podium at Milan-San Remo but both teams could be satisfied with their performances, even if the results didn’t quite match their ambition. Lidl-Trek played a prominent role on the Poggio with Jonathan Milan and Jasper Stuyven both sacrificing their chances for Mads Pedersen. In the final run to the line the American squad still had two riders in the first group and Stuyven’s lead-out was near perfect after almost 280km of racing.

The only blemish came in the sprint, with Pedersen simply running out of gas and fading to fourth. At the finish, the distraught Dane apologised to his team and teammates but there was no reason to. The gameplan was carried out to the letter with the only pre-sprint slip coming on the Poggio when Pedersen was forced to close a gap after Tim Wellens had turned on the afterburners. The reality is that sprinting after six hours of racing nullifies even the best of riders and the ifs and maybes from that final 8km could play out in a multitude of ways if run again. This team is still moving in the right direction, however, and as the Classics return to Belgium, they have a better chance than ever of winning a Monument.

The same goes for Ineos Grenadiers. They had four riders on the Poggio and came even closer to victory – results withstanding – thanks to Pidcock’s attack in the last few hundred metres. His acceleration came at the perfect moment, and if not for Van der Poel’s unreal performance we’d be looking at the first British winner since Mark Cavendish in 2009. Losing Ganna to a late mechanical was also a blow but the team had numbers through several key points in the race, and whilst they fell short of replicating last year's second place, the signs for the future remain promising.

The only concern now is that both Ganna and Pidcock will skip the cobbled Classics, leaving the team without a proven leader for Belgium. That’s a decision of their own making, and like Van Aert skipping Milan-San Remo, it’s a call that will only be deemed a success if later objectives are accomplished. At this point, however, both Ineos and Lidl are making progress as they continue to build, or rebuild, their rosters.

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