Mathieu van der Poel the key to Philipsen's Milano-Sanremo victory: I had to go very deep to get Pogacar back
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel began his 2024 season this afternoon at Milano-Sanremo. Although he did not revalidate his title from the previous season, he closed down two crucial attacks that then led to Jasper Philipsen's ultimate sprint victory.
“That was no surprise. In my opinion that was not the smartest move. We also saw that they did not perform very well on the Cipressa, which we actually expected," van der Poel said of UAE Team Emirates' performance earlier in the race, in words to VTM. "Lidl-Trek, who had the strongest team for this, did very well. Jasper [Philipsen] had already told me that he had super legs.”
And as they did last year at Paris-Roubaix, they collaborated perfectly in an incredibly long race. Philipsen, more than just a sprinter, climbed the Poggio towards the back of the group completely hiding himself from the likes of Tadej Pogacar who were on the attack. Van der Poel did not attack, but responded to Pogacar.
“I then did everything right on the Poggio. I would have liked to ride to the finish with Tadej Pogacar. I didn't expect him to succeed at the end of the climb. I had to go very deep to get him back," he explains. With Philipsen back in the group at the end of the descent, van der Poel then hit the front to close down the attack of Matej Mohoric which was very dangerous. He also helped close down Tom Pidcock's late surge, which allowed the group to catch up with the Briton and provide the sprinters with an opportunity to win.
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"In the end it is very beautiful. Of course I'd rather win myself, but I can enjoy this," he says, having also helped Philipsen to extreme success in 2023 including several Tour de France victories.
“We have already helped each other a lot. I give it to him. I hope that I will get a little better in the coming weeks. I didn't expect to be as good as last year. But I was definitely fine today,” he concluded.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Tenant du titre et maillot de champion du monde sur le dos, Mathieu van der Poel a été décisif dans cette victoire de Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Le Néerlandais avait repris Tadej Pogacar sur le sommet du Poggio, neutralisant le Slovène ensuite. #MilanoSanRemo
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