"The hunger is not yet satisfied" - The team around Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen aims for more great victories this spring
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel is yet to be defeated at one-day races this spring. Whether he's able to carry on with this momentum will be put into test again this Friday at E3 Saxo Classic. His challenger none less than Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian will be now joined by returning Wout Van Aert too. However after the phenomenal showcase at Milano-Sanremo, Alpecin-Deceuninck has no doubts in the strength of its leader.
As unlikely as it sounds, the Belgian formation seems to have built a bond with the Italian Monument. Van der Poel won La Primavera in 2023, while Jasper Philipsen was the fastest on the Via Roma last year. That makes the 2025 victory extra special, according to team manager Philip Roodhooft. "A trilogy in Milano-Sanremo, with two different riders, deserves the highest place in my opinion. We can really be proud of this."
Although their roots are on cobbles, Milano-Sanremo seems to be in just the right sweet spot. "Why is this our dream race? A combination of the sporting importance, the tension, the country, the spring," Roodhooft sums up. "And of course the fact that we now win for the third time, that is very special."
According to the team boss, Milano-Sanremo is the most difficult classic to win, but that did not take away the fact that the team travelled to Italy with confidence. "We started our season quite late again, in which we completed both Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice without a sprinter, but it has now started well."
With victories in both Milano-Sanremo and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, Alpecin-Deceuninck is having a strong start to the season. However, the team is not yet satisfied. "Jasper's (Philipsen, ed.) crash in Nokere Koerse was a disappointment, but with this victory we can be very happy again. Be careful, the hunger is not yet satisfied, right", Roodhooft concludes combatively.
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- Also, plenty of these dubious characters are actually still very much involved in current teams but nobody seems to care much that they accompany some of the most popular riders.Mistermaumau27-03-2025
- I understand but then again, it’s free and apart from a tsunami of ads, doesn’t hold you hostage to subscribe or share data, not many others offer a quick broad overview like that. If you have time to read everything in-depth you can do the rounds yourself or subscribe to quality material, nothing stops you paying to filter undesired content.Mistermaumau27-03-2025
- It's unlikely he can win, but he'll definitely have fun! Tadej loves and enjoys cycling: his passion, not just his job. Most important thing: he's NOT AFRAID OF LOSING. Other top riders only race if they can win (terror of losing, fragile egos). I adore you Tadej. Stay safe.
maria2024202427-03-2025 - Agreed but kind of off this comes from DGMistermaumau27-03-2025
- He should be pretty capable on technical terrain. His cyclocross bike handling skills are elite, and that is not easy. I do agree he needs some time back on his mtb, as it is a bit different, but if he focuses well on that xco title goal, he can reach it no doubt.JoshuaCharter27-03-2025
- I saw the ending, the riders were all over the place trying to move up. It was only a matter of time till somebody crashed.abstractengineer27-03-2025
- My issue is that this site proactively solicits the commentary of one disgraced doper after another. It's like they can't find anyone who didn't leave the sport under a cloud of shame. I think I'm done with this site.critguy26-03-2025
- The finale of this race was an absolute mess, and the last crash that took out 1/2 of the field was caused when a double width road very suddenly funneled into a single lane, and riders had nowhere to go. I find it amazing how some of these courses get approved in the first place. So much for the UCI's campaign for improved rider safety, because if they actually cared, the organizers wouldn't have been allowed to run the finale on this parcours.
santiagobenites26-03-2025 - I hope Wout can come back. He has had 3 terrible crashes--not on par with Froome or Bernal, but at his level just a fraction of a percent is all that separates the grand champions of this new generation. Even if he is back all the way physically, those abrupt confrontations with pavement and mortality take a psychic toll, especially for a father of young kids.
Barney26-03-2025 - Everyone was so keen on free speech for a while, what happened ;-) But seriously, the problem is not so much that he gave his view as that someone follows it and spreads it, not totally unlike the schoolkids running US war games at present ;-)Mistermaumau26-03-2025