"I did one of the performances of my life" - Filippo Ganna narrowly misses out on Milano-Sanremo win after pushing Van der Poel & Pogacar all the way
Cycling
In arguably one of his career-best performances, Filippo Ganna dealt with everything thrown at him by Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar during Milano-Sanremo 2025. In the end though, the Italian powerhouse wasn't quite rewarded with a Monument win, narrowly losing out to Van der Poel in a thrilling three-up sprint for the line.
Although the repeated and brutal attacks of both Pogacar and Van der Poel on the Cipressa and the Poggio had looked to put Ganna in difficulty, every time the INEOS Grenadiers leader was dropped, he managed to power back using that big diesel engine he has as a time-trial specialist. "I think I did one of my best performances ever," he assesses of his efforts in a post-race interview with Cycling Pro Net. "I just have to say thank you to the team because they believed in me and we arrived really close."
"When I got dropped, I tried to chase full gas on the downhill. I never braked because I said: 'If I crash it doesn't matter'," Ganna reveals. "So yeah, I'm happy, but obviously I'm the first of the losers. I hope to win one day, some great champions needed 14 years before a win but I think I need to do it earlier because my career won't last as long as that!"
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Having been dropped by Van der Poel and Pogacar heading into the finale, many a rider may have settled for 3rd. Ganna though, is not the type. "On the radio they kept screaming: 'Full gas! Go Pippo go!' So I tried to keep going and yeah, I think also the public on the roads gave me and extra boost so I didn't lose motivation in the chase," Ganna explains. "I did one of the performances of my life, and I'm happy to say so."
"Maybe the only mistake was not anticipating Van der Poel (in the final sprint ed.), but I was a little bit in the red zone. Well not a little bit, a lot in the red zone. I tried to do my best, but sometimes it's really hard," he concludes.
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- Fine by me, was just trying to understand why you felt Tadej’s and MVDP’s 2 per year was more interesting than 3 and 1 or with the others thrown in the mix. Up to now results of the two eras are not very different but it may have been more interesting to compare the number of races where both actually CONFRONTED each other. I’m pretty sure TP and MVDP don’t have a hope in hell of offering nearly as much rivalry, many years the other 2 did 2 or 3 monuments together, in 1975 they even both did all 5! And that’s without counting classics. Compared to that it sure looks as if today’s riders try to avoid the others. You’re right to spend your time otherwise if you prefer I enjoy learning stuff from people with their personal view, whether I agree or not, debate is a great tool for that but obviously no longer fashionable in the age of Twitter where stating is more important than reasoning. Enjoy the racing/your rides, whatever.Mistermaumau24-03-2025
- Thanks, I will go look for itJumpyjohn24-03-2025
- If this is true then he has checked out mentally. This is a very bad sign for this team.awp24-03-2025
- To be clear, I won't comment on another person or try to change what they do, and I won't uses language like you just did. I can only determine what I do, and I'd like to spend my time celebrating the incredible riding we see and enjoy it as much as possible. I'm a fan, I'd rather be a fan in awe than one going into debates online.RidesHills24-03-2025
- It was a very impressive ride by Matthew Brennan. This kid has some serious talent.
santiagobenites24-03-2025 - RiderHills...well said, the guy is a pain in the arse. He talks utter crap most of the time and off comment. Just ignore the sad little man.
Senna196024-03-2025 - I'm coming to realize that answering your questions will just lead down a rabbit hole of debate. I'd rather avoid that, and instead celebrate the amazing things we see in front of us. Have a good day!RidesHills24-03-2025
- 14 August 2023 Canadian Cycling Magazine.Hill3324-03-2025
- I don't think a single person in the world can go 8:00 or faster in race conditions behind other humansvappaxbipmv24-03-2025
- I might, if they ever said anything worthwhile but they’re usually just adding filler to what we already know so yeah, no need but then how do you know until you read :-)Jumpyjohn24-03-2025