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Milan-San Remo lived up to its reputation as the “hardest race to win” in a nail-biting, attack-riddled finale down the Via Roma that culminated in an electrifying bike-throw between Jasper Philipsen and Michael Matthews.
Defying expectations on a day that Tadej Pogačar seemed destined to win, a sprinter reclaimed the top spot on the podium for the first time since 2016. No one saw that coming.
Riders and fans alike might bemoan the first five hours of the race, and with good reason. Even at 288km as the longest race of the year, Milan-San Remo only bubbles to life until the closing 50km. That run along the sparkling Italian riviera is arguably the most explosive and unpredictable hour of racing of the entire season.
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The 115th edition of the Italian monument burst open like a bottle of chilled Italian spumante, shaken up for five hours, and then uncorked to an explosion of euphoria up and over the Poggio.
It was that good.
The final 2km of the season’s longest race saw more relentless attacks than some stage races produce in a week.
The stars stepped into the spotlight, with Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel trading swipes. Tom Pidcock and former champion Matej Mohorič uncorked searing attacks. Team Lidl-Trek threw its collective weight behind Mads Pedersen.
The post-race hug-fest confirmed that rivalries end as soon as the bunch crosses the finish line, and the Milan-San Remo podium celebration marked the very best of bike racing in 2024 in the passion and chaos that’s unique to Italian monument.
Today’s racing is the best we’ve seen in decades. Milan-San Remo exceeded expectations on many levels. Here are five key talking points:
Pogačar power stymied on the Poggio
Many pundits (this one included) thought this weekend was Pogačar’s best chance to win one of the calendar’s most complicated races.
Without the brawny presence of Wout van Aert and Van der Poel coming in as an unknown, all eyes turned to Pogačar to blow away the bunch over the Poggio.
Yet Van Aert’s absence also worked against Pogačar in that he could not count on those extra watts to take the race that next-level power zone to drop all the sprinters. With the combined bulk of Lidl-Trek backing Mads Pedersen 100 percent, and Van der Poel racing unselfishly in the closing decisive kilometers, especially when he looked back and saw Philipsen chasing down the Poggio, the stars suddenly turned against Pogačar.
Also read: Pogačar is already plotting MSR comeback
UAE Team Emirates couldn’t make the race hard enough over the Cipressa, and despite big pulls from Isaac del Toro — a late-hour replacement for Brandon McNulty — the bunch came back together for the final run up the Poggio with many sprinters and allies floating on the wheels.
Pogačar put down two searing attacks, but the Poggio simply isn’t steep enough or long enough for even a rider of Pogačar’s caliber to singularly blow up the race. He needs allies, and though Van der Poel had the gas to mark the wheel, he did not help to pile on.
Van der Poel later unselfishly took huge digs down the Poggio to control attacks to set up Philipsen, which also helped open the door for Pogačar to dash to a career-first podium with third. In three starts at San Remo, Pogačar improves each season, from fifth, to fourth, and now third.
— Christophe Diels ©️ (@denbokkerijder) March 16, 2024
Despite it being the fastest climb and descent of the Poggio ever, to master the puzzle of the finale, Pogačar needs collaboration and allies on both sides of the headland, and then have the speed to win a reduced bunch sprint.
Many riders have been stymied by San Remo. Pogačar vows to return in 2025, assuring every one of another spectacular race.
Pogačar: “I tried with two attacks. I had incredible legs but this year it wasn’t hard enough for it to be a climber’s race. I did everything that I could to be in third place. I think in this situation I couldn’t have done much better. It was close.”
‘Bling’ didn’t shut down the sprint: Class move by Michael Matthews
A sprinter hadn’t won San Remo since 2016 with Arnaud Démare, and just days before the start of San Remo, Michael Matthews wasn’t even sure he’d be racing after pulled out of Paris-Nice last week with illness.
Barely 48 hours later, Matthews came within inches of winning his first monument. Jayco-AlUla kept him out of trouble with Australian champion Luke Plapp and Davide de Pretto both pacing him onto the Poggio.
Also read: Is Milan-San Remo too long?
Twice third, the 33-year-old rode the near-perfect race, and used his race savvy to come off the Lidl-Trek leadout to burst down the left side of the fences. Two things happened that could have decided the race.
First, Matthews’ glasses slipped off just as he squeezed everything into his pedals. Though he didn’t mention it in post-race interviews, could have that ever-so-slight bobble have cost him those sometimes immeasurable watts to winning?
And more importantly, Matthews did not close down Philipsen coming fast on his left. Revealing true character and class, “Bling” stayed in his lane, and contested the sprint to the tape fair and square. Of course, any blatant move to his left might well have seen a relegation, but in the heat of the moment, the Australian stayed true to the spirit of fair racing.
Matthews: “Being so close, it’s bittersweet. I think tomorrow morning I’ll be happy with my performance, bit in this moment right now, being this close to a monument after so many podiums, it’s hard.”
MVDP is the MVP (again)
Van der Poel once again proved he’s not only one of the greatest riders of his generation, he also delivered another generous performance that benefitted his sponsor, his team, and helped serve up Philipsen for the spectacular victory.
Van der Poel is one of those rare riders who can single-handedly change the direction of a race. Pogačar, Van Aert, and others like Jonas Vingegaard are the obvious others, yet Van der Poel is also proving to be a superb and unselfish teammate.
That’s rare among superstars of his profile, and he often races just as hard for others as he does for his own chances. Philipsen won four stages and the green jersey in last year’s Tour de France in large part to the exquisite leadouts from his superstar teammate.
Mathieu van der Poel starting his 15th Monument: Milano-Sanremo 2024.
4 victories
8 top-3 results
13 top-10s
Worst result: 13th in MSR’20
⭕️Top-10 in all 5 Monuments in 14 monthsRonde van Vlaanderen 2020+22
Milano-Sanremo 2023
Paris-Roubaix 2023— Cycling Statistics (@StatsOnCycling) March 14, 2024
It was obvious that Van der Poel was racing for his own chances Saturday, but as he followed Pogačar down the Poggio, Van der Poel twice looked back to check on his teammate. Once he confirmed Philipsen was trailing down with the other favorites, he quickly made the calculus that the team’s best chances would likely be with the Belgian speedster.
Van der Poel took big pulls to reel in Mohorič and the late-attacking Tom Pidcock to assure that Philipsen would have his chance.
Philipsen brilliantly rode off Lidl-Trek’s train for Pedersen and carried speed past Matthews to score his first major monument.
In what’s a contract year for Philipsen, the Belgian better think twice about joining another team when he would be racing against and not with Van der Poel as a teammate and ally.
Van der Poel: “Jasper told me that he still had good legs, so I knew what to do. I could have sprinted myself but we’re honest with each other, and if he says he has good legs then I believe it, and he proved it.”
Missing Wout: Visma-Lease a Bike can’t win them all
With Van Aert camped out at altitude, set to parachute in for this week’s E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem, Visma-Lease a Bike was still hoping to swing for the fences.
Christophe Laporte and Olav Kooij, making his monument debut Saturday, provided a formidable double. Laporte, who typically shines when he gets the opportunity to step into the leadership role, waved off his teammates coming over the Cipressa, signaling that he wasn’t feeling great.
Kooij, at 22, is already emerging as a major sprint force in his third WorldTour season, put down solid numbers to make it over the Poggio in the front chase group, kicking to second in the group behind Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) for 14th in his San Remo debut.
How to win Flanders and Roubaix? Wout van Aert climbs 5,000m in monstrous seven-hour training ride up Mount Teide in search of classics gloryhttps://t.co/58vxoipnXK
— road.cc (@roadcc) March 13, 2024
Already packing four wins this season, Kooij will nudge into the frame in the coming years.
Even with Visma-Lease a Bike winning at all fronts, including the historic first of winning Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo served as a reminder that no team can win everything.
Kooij: “I definitely want to return here one day and sprint for victory, just like Philipsen did today. I am happy that I was able to survive the Cipressa. This race once again illustrates the development I am going through.”
Greatest hug-fest of the year
Perhaps in what was a fitting end to such a spectacular edition was how all the major protagonists celebrated together after the race.
Beyond the initial disappointment of losing or not winning, the top stars came together to celebrate the joy of racing. This spirit of sportsmanship rings true. It’s not contrived or made-for-TV gestures.
In a sport with centuries of bitter rivalries, today’s peloton leaves the rivalry on the road. This is the new generation’s fullest expression.
Of course, today’s salaries help take the edge off the bitterness of not winning. Back in the day, a rider had a very short window to bank as much money as possible, and someone else’s success meant cash out of their pocket.
Also read: How Van der Poel defanged San Remo in 2023
Rivalries still exist, of course, but it’s rare to see any enmity extend beyond the tarmac. There are exceptions, and the indelible frostiness between Van Aert and Van der Poel is proof of that. MVDP insists it’s nothing personal, but rooted in the fact that they’ve been racing against one another since their early teens.
A telling photo went viral before the start of the race of Matthews and Pogačar sharing a ride together to the start of the race. Matthew’s wife is Slovenian, and they’re quite close to Pogačar and his partner Urška Žigart. Rivals on the road, friends everywhere else.
There was true celebration on the podium in San Remo. These guys are living the dream, and perhaps now more than anytime in professional cycling history, the peloton is in a healthier place.
Those who car pool together, podium together. pic.twitter.com/8RtMapiRYc
— Belinda (@reallyspoketome) March 17, 2024