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Milano-Sanremo: Praise for Mathieu van der Poel as he holds off Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogacar - ‘You are incredible’
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Published 22/03/2025 at 17:23 GMT
Mathieu van der Poel won the seventh Monument race of his career on Saturday afternoon when he held off challenges from both Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogacar at the 2025 Milano-Sanremo race in Italy. Both Adam Blythe and Nathan van Hooydonck were impressed by the quality of the racing as three stars of cycling went head to head in one of the season's highlights.
‘Pure drama’ as Van der Poel edges Pogacar at Milano-Sanremo - ‘What on earth have we just seen?!’
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Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was praised by Adam Blythe as the Dutchman won his seventh career Monument at Milano-Sanremo on Saturday afternoon.
The 30-year-old won the Italian event for the second time in his career, having also claimed victory in 2023, in extraordinary circumstances.
Van der Poel held off challenges from both Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) all the way to the finish line in one of the most entertaining races of the early cycling season.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Blythe reflected on a remarkable end to the race that began in Pavia, taking in almost 300 kilometres.
"I can't remember a finish, or a bike race, like that where we've seen so much action - so much enthralling action - and I cannot remember a single time that anyone has attacked Tadej Pogacar when he was in full flight, after attacking five, six times," he said.
Given the pedigree of the two closest challengers to Van der Poel, Blyth was hugely impressed by his ability to hold on to victory.
"Credit where credit is due. Mathieu van der Poel, we know how good a world champion he is, but that to me is like, 'Phew, chapeau, mate. You are incredible’."
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Pogacar is 'rewriting the rules' - Van Hooydonck
Former Jumbo-Visma rider Nathan van Hooydonck singled out the efforts of Pogacar to elevate the level of competition in the race.
He explained: "Tadej Pogacar is kind of rewriting the rules of cycling, because when did we see a group going away on the Cipressa, staying away until the finish line?
"I've never seen it before. Maybe it happened a very long time ago, but the way he took the race under control, hats off to Pogacar as well. "
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Highlights: Wiebes takes ‘one of the biggest wins of her career’ at Milano-Sanremo Donne
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Blythe concurred, saying: "He did literally everything he could. It was almost written down. Everyone knew what he was potentially going to do, and he did that.
"And that's even with the drama at the Cipressa. Don't forget there was a crash at the Cipressa, a lot of people were out of position because of that."
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