Jasper Philipsen can be happy. © APA/afp / ALESSANDRO GAROFALO

The sprint king wins Milan-Sanremo

Tadej Pogacar's sharp attacks 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 on Saturday in a photo finish.

March 16, 2024

From: dpa

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. "Incredible. I can't even realize that. Winning here is a dream. I had a good feeling right from the start. At Poggio the favorites had a look at each other and I was able to come back. After 300 kilometers, a sprint is a little different,” said Philipsen.

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.

Pogacar disappointed

“I am very proud of what Mathieu achieved 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.

Tadej Pogacar came third. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

“We had a plan. Ten percent were missing on the Cipresssa (penultimate climb). At Poggio it wasn't hard enough to drive away. I had good legs and attacked twice. To win, everything has to go perfectly. But not everything was 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.

Pogacar wants the double

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 26, achieved this was 2004 years ago.