“He definitely feels it” – Mathieu van der Poel's loyal lieutenant admits Milano-Sanremo crash is still affecting Alpecin leader

Mathieu van der Poel is heading into the cobbled Classics still feeling the effects of his Milano-Sanremo crash, with Alpecin teammate Silvan Dillier admitting the injury has not gone away.

Van der Poel was left with a hand issue after crashing on the run-in to the Cipressa, later revealing he struggled to properly hold his handlebars in the decisive phase of the race.

While he was still able to follow the key move on the climb, he could not respond when Tadej Pogacar attacked on the Poggio, as the race split for good.

Now, days on from Sanremo, the problem remains. “The hand is kind of okay. I think he still… he definitely feels it,” Dillier told Cycling News. “If it bothers him too much in a race situation, I don’t know, but when he’s at the start line, he will be our leader, for sure, no doubt.”

That assessment places Van der Poel in an uncomfortable middle ground. He is not dealing with an injury serious enough to stop him from racing. But equally, he is not fully clear of it, and that distinction becomes more important as the demands increase.

Milano-Sanremo already offered a first indication. The race was ridden harder into the Cipressa than usual, stretching the effort and reducing the margin for error before the Poggio. Van der Poel still made the selection, underlining that his level remains high, but the combination of that longer effort and the aftermath of the crash left him just short when it mattered most.

The concern now is not what happened in Sanremo, but what comes next. Cobbled racing places constant stress on the hands and upper body, turning even minor issues into something harder to manage over repeated sectors. It is the kind of environment where discomfort can build, rather than fade.

Greg van Avermaet pointed to that risk in the immediate aftermath of Sanremo. “As long as it’s not a bone, it’s manageable on the cobbles. But that nail was split, and anyone who's lost a nail knows how painful that can be.”

Van der Poel has already shown he is strong enough to compete with the very best. The uncertainty is whether he can do so without limitation.

For now, the message from within his own team is clear. He will start, and he will lead. But as Dillier’s words underline, the problem he picked up in Italy is still very much present.