Mathieu van der Poel reveals 'established names' he says are favourites for Milano-Sanremo amid Tadej Pogacar rivalry
Published 18/03/2025 at 11:05 GMT
This weekend’s men's Milano-San Remo is set to be another closely-fought race, packed with talent. Mathieu van der Poel is in the field, fully recovered from a rib injury that hampered him earlier in the year. But the Dutchman does not believe he is a clear favourite for the first Monument of the season, instead listing plenty of others who could be in the mix on Saturday.
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Mathieu van der Poel says he has "found the percentages" he was looking for ahead of his tilt at Milano-Sanremo - and revealed a list of "established names" he thinks the victor will come from.
But while he did not win a stage last week, he has still ridden himself into some good form ahead of the first Monument of the year.
Milano-San Remo is this coming weekend, and Van der Poel will be among the favourites for the longest of the Spring Classics, which will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
At 289km, La Classicissima cannot be underestimated and has proven one of the hardest of the Monuments to win for many, with 10 different winners in the last 10 seasons.
Van der Poel does know what it takes to triumph in San Remo, having done so for Alpecin–Deceuninck two years ago.
But what sort of form is he carrying into this year’s race off the back of Tirreno-Adriatico?
"Of course, I would have liked to win a stage [last week]," he said as reported by Cyclingnews.
"But I still feel healthy and that would have been a victory in this weather anyway. I had a few good days last week. This is what I needed towards the classics.
"I have also found the percentages I was looking for. This was simply a very good week. And I repeat: I have stayed healthy. With a view to the classics, that was perhaps the most important thing."
Van der Poel opted to return to Belgium rather than recon the course ahead of Saturday’s race, deciding he knew the roads around Milan well enough after racing there for the past six seasons.
"Every Monument is important to me. I know what I still have to do this week to be good on Saturday," he continued.
"Rest, but at the same time give the body some stimulation. Yes, I will return to Belgium. I will probably get my gravel bike out a few times. Will I explore the Poggio this week? No, not this time. I think I have seen enough of the Poggio in recent years."
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As for who he believes are the favourites, he sees the big names coming to the fore once again - including his team-mate, last year’s winner Jasper Philipsen.
"You should not conclude from that that I am the clear leader this time. We started with the same idea as last year and that worked," he said.
"I [don't] see many surprises. Saturday will be between the established names again. [Filippo] Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) has proven once again that he will be one of the top favourites.
"In Paris-Nice I saw that [Mads] Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is in very good shape. And then of course there is [Tadej] Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)."
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Milano-San Remo ‘hardest’ race for Pogacar to win
Greg Van Avermaet has been speaking on Pogacar’s chances this weekend - and the retired Belgian racer had some interesting things to say.
"San Remo will be the hardest one for him to win because it’s more about luck. It’s hard to make the difference on the Poggio," Van Avermaet told Velo.
"That climb is not steep enough for him to make the gap to the finish line. Of course, that will push him even more to try to win."
There is not much climbing in Milano-San Remo, just the Passo del Turchino at the halfway mark, before the short, sharp bursts up the Poggio and Cipressa late on.
As such, the route may not lend itself to a Pogacar-style solo attack.
"If things are not going easy for him, he just has to try and try again to beat those sprinters. Maybe now he will try to launch from the Cipressa, but if he tries there and fails, it will only get more complicated," Van Avermaet added.
"That’s the cool thing about Tadej. He’s good at one-day races and a lot of GC guys don’t even think about that. He has the skills to go full-gas on the Classics and he’s got the great engine.
"Tadej is hungry for more. Some guys are not interested in racing everything, but Tadej is different. He doesn’t need to do these kinds of races to be successful, but he does them anyway.
"He does this kind of stuff because he loves racing. He feels attracted to the Classics because they’re more tactical than grand tours. He wants to tick everything off. He sees the fun in racing."
Plenty of big names to watch
As well as Van der Poel and Pogacar, Milano-San Remo boasts a host of stars in the starting line up for 2025.
Ineos Grenadiers have confirmed Ganna will be joined by team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski - who won here in 2017 - while Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen will also be going for glory.
Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) won this race back in 2019 in his Deceuninck–Quick-Step days, and Tom Pidcock is another on the starting list as he continues his hunt for podiums and wins for Q36.5.
Team Jayco AlUla's Michael Matthews can never be discounted either, as Milano-San Remo gets set to deliver more drama.
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