"If anyone can stop Pogacar, it's Mathieu": Tom Dumoulin puts trust in his compatriot for Milano-Sanremo 2026

The first Pogacar-Van der Poel showdown of this season at the Milano-Sanremo is just around the corner, and the greatest mystery before the race start is, can the current world champion dethrone his Dutch rival in his 4th attempt at La Primavera?

Tadej Pogacar is rarely defeated, but so far, Mathieu van der Poel withstood all his attempts at Milano-Sanremo. However the Slovenian doesn't like to leave any boxes unticked on his bucket list. Thus, we have seen him train extensively on the race's both key ascents, Cipressa and Poggio di Sanremo, in run-up to this Saturday's event.

And if anyone can stop Pogacar, it will have to be Van der Poel once again, believes Tom Dumoulin: "He is the only rider who could follow Pogacar on the Cipressa. I really hope it works out, because then we will have another beautiful mano-à-mano battle, also on the Poggio and the final kilometers to the finish. Just like last year. But Pogacar seems to have been working on this for months," he outlines on the NOS Cycling Podcast.

One thing's clear to the former Giro d'Italia champion, the Slovenian definitely didn't underestimate his preparation: "During his training, he has already ridden up the Cipressa extremely hard very often, and even managed to improve his own best time."

Additionally, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider can lean back on a strong team support, despite the losses of Jonathan Narváez and Tim Wellens in the early months of this season: "Pogacar is so determined to win and also has a climber in Isaac Del Toro supporting him, who can set a massive pace on the Cipressa. It will be very difficult for Van der Poel."

There'll be a list of ambitious contenders at the starting line of this year's edition with Filippo Ganna, Wout Van Aert or winner of Milano-Torino, the final pre-Sanremo test Tom Pidcock, to name just a few. But at the end of the day, Dumoulin only truly believes in his compatriot to put up a fight against the Slovenian phenomenon.

"If anyone can do it [stop Pogacar], it’s Mathieu," said Dumoulin. Not having to create the race as compared to Pogacar, will be a tremendous advantage for the two-time winner. "And we shouldn’t forget that the Cipressa isn’t an Alpine pass. It’s not really a steep climb. Riding in the wheel is a huge advantage. You don’t have to pedal as hard as someone riding at the front. If Mathieu can stay right on that wheel, he certainly has a chance."

There's a valid reason to expect the race to open up already on the penultimate climb Cipressa, just like last year. That would be an early death sentence for the outsiders. Runner-up from 2025 Filippo Ganna indicated that his team is ready to open up the race very early. But Dumoulin sees little to no room for the competition to anticipate.

"There is no other option. You can’t attack on the Capi (the three climbs before the Cipressa, ed.) to anticipate Pogacar’s acceleration. You will never get very far away, and even at this stage, the peloton is already riding incredibly hard. You would then have to make an ultimate effort for fifteen seconds…"