"That's the way you win a race" - Lance Armstrong impressed with Mathieu van der Poel win at Milano-Sanremo

As Mathieu van der Poel rode home to a Milano-Sanremo win that is sure to live long in the memory of cycling fans the world over. One man who certainly was impressed was Lance Armstrong.

Probably the most controversial figure in the history of the sport, Armstrong's thoughts and opinions are still valued by many in the cycling world. On his podcast alongside Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong lavished praise on van der Poel.

Read also

“I was curious if he would still come to Flanders, that was it" - Van der Poel explains conversation with Ganna and Van Aert

"That's the way you win a race, especially a classic like Milan-Sanremo. That was just: see you later in the showers," says Armstrong. "But you could see it in the course; he was the first on top of the Cipressa and had a hole together with a teammate. And you saw him look: should we go now? I then thought: he feels good."

"I think he drove the perfect course," Bruyneel agrees. “That breakaway in the last hundreds of meters of the Poggio was unbelievable. Nobody had an answer. At the first corner at the top you could already see that he was going to win. His speed was so much faster than Pogacar, who was about 25 meters I think. At that moment I said: game over."

Read also

Video: First-person view of Mathieu van der Poel's winning Milano-Sanremo attack