Cycling
Philipsen wins Milan-Sanremo – Pogacar third
Jasper Philipsen (r) came out on top just ahead of Michael Matthews (M.) and Tadej Pogacar. photo
© Gian Mattia D’alberto/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Tadej Pogacar has no success with his feared attacks. The hour of the sprinters has arrived on the Via Roma in Sanremo. The fastest man in the 2023 Tour de France is unstoppable.
The sharp attacks of Tadej Pogacar had no effect, instead sprint king Jasper Philipsen showed off his top class on the Via Roma.
The four-time stage winner of the last Tour de France won the spring classic Milan-Sanremo for the first time in a photo finish, thus celebrating his greatest success at one of cycling’s monuments. After 288 kilometers, Philipsen won the sprint in a small group by a narrow margin ahead of the Australian Michael Matthews and the Slovenian top favorite Pogacar. German drivers played no role in the decision.
“Incredible. I can’t even realize it. Winning here is a dream. I had a good feeling right from the start. At Poggio the favorites looked at each other a little and I was able to come back. After 300 kilometers, a sprint is a little different “said Philipsen.
Two attacks from Pogacar
Pogacar, who started the season two weeks ago with an impressive solo victory in the Strade Bianche gravel race, launched two attacks at Poggio shortly before the finish. But last year’s winner and world champion Mathieu van der Poel, who finished tenth, led his rivals back and was able to celebrate the victory of his teammate Philipsen at the end.
“I’m very proud of what Mathieu did in the final. We did it as a team,” added Philipsen. The explosive Belgian was almost unstoppable by the competition in the Tour sprints last year and also won the points classification.
“We had a plan. On the Cipresssa (penultimate climb) we were ten percent off. On the Poggio it wasn’t hard enough to pull away. I had good legs and attacked twice. Everything has to go perfectly to win. But it was “Not everything is perfect,” said Pogacar after his next unsuccessful attempt at victory in Sanremo.
The plan was to move away from Cipressa alone. But things didn’t go well with the support of his UAE teammates. It was repeatedly seen how Pogacar contacted his sports management by radio. Pogacar had already tried Poggio at the Classicissima last year, but was then duped by van der Poel. Before the race really got going this time, the last of the original ten breakaways was caught eleven kilometers from the finish.
Goal: Giro victory
Italy is high on Pogacar’s agenda this year. In May, the 25-year-old wants to triumph at the Giro for the first time and then achieve the double at the Tour de France, which begins in Florence. The last time the climbing king Marco Pantani, who died in 2004, achieved this was 26 years ago.
None of the seven German drivers who started were able to put themselves in the spotlight. The last victory was won by John Degenkolb in 2015, but the Thuringian was not there this time. Erik Zabel achieved the greatest successes from a German perspective with four successes between 1997 and 2001.