NORTHWEST ITALY: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) earned praise from professional Adam Blythe after the Dutch rider claimed his seventh Monument win at the Milano-Sanremo race.
The 30-year-old secured his second Milano-Sanremo victory, adding to his 2023 win, as he withstood fierce competition from Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG), holding his ground until the final stretch in what was one of the most exciting races of the season.
In a social media post, van der Poel expressed: “A @milanosanremo_ to remember 🤯”
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Netizens also shared their excitement about the race on social media.
One netizen commended the athletes and said: “amazing cyclists and great win”
Another netizen expressed: “What a great race. Last 20 km was hilarious 
”
Some shared their thoughts on Pogacar’s performance and mentioned: “We all knew Pogacar would attack on the Cipressa, but little did we know it was going to be a thrilling finish from there. Pogacar did what he could as it was the only way for him to win it, Ganna was impressive on the day and MVDP, well he’s probably the best one-day racer of the moment.”
More netizens stated: “Fantastic finish! All three of those guys make cycling win!,” “Great race!!! Congratulations to Mattieu and all,” and “Amazing 3 toppers on the finish this is for me 3 winners!!!!!!”
Compliments from a professional
Speaking to TNT Sports, Blythe reflected on the incredible finale race, which started in Pavia and covered nearly 300 kilometres. With this, Blythe stated: “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.”
Moreover, considering the capabilities of Van der Poel’s main competitors, Blythe was very impressed by his ability to hold on and win. The athlete stated: “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’.”
In other news, former Jumbo-Visma rider Nathan van Hoonydonck highlighted Pogacar’s efforts in raising the level of competition in the race. He shared: “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.”
With this, Blythe also said: “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.”