The 115th Milan-San Remo was brought to the collective sprint. We will introduce comments from players such as Jasper Philipsen (Belgium, Alpecin Deceuninck), who said, “I asked Van der Poel for an assist over the radio,” Matthews, who suffered a narrow loss, and Pogačar, who celebrated his friend’s victory.
Winner Jasper Philipsen (Belgium, Alpecin Deceuninck)
Pogačar, Matthews and Philipsen throwing handles photo:CorVos
Interview immediately after the race
I can’t believe it now that my dream has become reality. Milan-San Remo is a race among the monuments that I have a chance of winning. Mathieu (Van der Poel) had a great run and I’m proud that we were able to get the win as a team.
-How did it feel to win Milan-San Remo, the fastest race in the history of the tournament?
I’m sure last year was also the “fastest in history”, right? Even though the race gets faster every year, my legs are in good shape and I was already thinking from the start that “Today might be my day.” So I believed in my ability, but in order to win, everything has to go well. At Poggio, an elite group was formed, but I was able to return to the lead group (after falling behind on the climb).
Jasper Philipsen happily kisses his bike (Alpecin Deceuninck, Belgium) photo::RCS Sport
Among them was Mathieu, who showed great team play. I’m really grateful.
While we were wary of Mads (Pederson), the speed of Michael Matthews was unexpected. The sprint after running 300km felt different and strange. Despite all that, I was really happy to be able to cross the finish line just 5cm ahead of me.
Interview after the award ceremony
On the descent from Poggio, I radioed and begged Mathieu, “I have the legs (to win in a sprint), so please cooperate with Pogačar and don’t jump out.” So I’m grateful to him. He chooses to help his teammates over himself. Like I assisted him at Paris-Roubaix last year.
2nd place Michael Matthews (Australia, Jayco AlUllah)
Michael Matthews (Australia, Jayco Al-Ullah) on the podium in 2nd place photo: CorVos
The result was bittersweet. Now (immediately after the race), it is difficult to accept the reality that I missed out on conquering the monument by a few centimeters. However, this time last week, it was unclear whether he would even be able to start due to poor health. So all I could do was watch Paris-Nice at home. A week later, I ran Sanremo and was second by 1 cm. Considering that, it’s not that bad of a result. I’m actually proud of it.
3rd place Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates)
Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia, UAE Team Emirates) taking a selfie with close friends Matthews and Filipsen photo::RCS Sport
Getting on the podium is the best outcome imaginable. Michael (Matthews) and Jaspel (Philipsen) are good friends and I’m very happy to be on the podium with them.
I felt really good today and thought I could win. But of course I’m not the only one who wants to win, so I’m happy with this podium result. The team had a great, near perfect run with Cipressa and Poggio. On the last climb (Poggio) I couldn’t take the lead from the rest, so I decided to try my luck with a sprint. We will be back here aiming for victory.
4th place Mads Pedersen (Denmark, Riddle Trek)
Mads Pedersen (Denmark, Riddle Trek) was unable to maintain his speed despite being in a good position in the final stage photo::RCS Sport
I’m happy with how we ran as a team, but I’m also sorry that we weren’t able to sprint to at least reach the podium. The team’s performance and the assist from Jasper Stuyven in the final stages had to translate into at least a podium finish. That’s why I’m more depressed than usual.
11th Thomas Pidcock (England, Ineos Grenadiers)
It was very difficult to get the pattern to my advantage in the final stages. On the descent of Boggio, it was difficult to find a position to take advantage of the situation. There wasn’t much I could do in a situation like this, but I want to aim for another victory next year.
I didn’t have any particular strategy in mind, and in the final stages I was just following my instincts. That’s the best thing to do in a race like this. This is only my second time completing the race. This race is beautiful and one I definitely want to win.
text:Sotaro.Arakawa
photo:CorVos
2024-03-17 05:30:00
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