Mathieu van der Poel "still disappointed" despite incredible comeback at Milano-Sanremo: "This is a missed chance"

Mathieu van der Poel came into Milano-Sanremo as a "training ride" according to the team after he replaced one of his ill teammates. Whether his performance came as a surprise or not, the Dutchman returned to finish third at the longest race in the calendar in the first day of racing after a lingering back issue, an achievement that's hardly matched by anyone else on the day.

Despite this almost unconceivable achievement, van der Poel has expressed disappointment in his result: "I'm still disappointed. I think from maybe the biggest favourites I won the sprint for third place. It's a shame we couldn't sprint for victory today but that's Milan-San Remo. A few times it went like this already and it's just a difficult race to win."

Although it was always within the realm of possibility, it was expected that Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen would be leading Alpecin-Fenix. As the race toughened up at Cipressa, Philipsen didn't resist the pace in the peloton but a figure of the Dutch team emerged in the peloton as van der Poel was well present within the big favourites. He was not only present, but also active in the finale as he answered the attacks of Tadej Pogacar and Soren Kragh Andersen at the Poggio readily.

"We all know that Matej Mohorič can do quick descents. But I thought the group was big enough also to close the gap when we were down. I think he deserves it as well – it's strong if you can maintain a gap until the finish line," he added. Van der Poel was between the riders who put the most effort to reel in Matej Mohoric in the run-up to the line, but the group's efforts were unsuccessful.

"Also it was a bit of lack of cooperation. We were two riders with Pedersen and Van Aert that really tried to close the gap. We needed one or two teammates to close it with us, but that's racing.

He still won the sprint in the chasing group, finishing a strong third place. Well above the expectations of most: "I'm really happy with the feeling and I didn't have any pain in the back, so that's a positive thing about today, But I'm getting old as well. So, this is a missed chance again."

With his form in a seemingly good place, van der Poel will this coming week race Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali to prime it up in time of the Tour des Flandres and Paris-Roubaix, his main goals of the spring.