"We expected help from other teams, which in the end never came" - Alpecin-Deceuninck left to do all the hard work at Milano-Sanremo

With last two winners at the start of Milano-Sanremo, Alpecin-Deceuninck knew all the hard work would be up to them. That's why we saw Silvan Dillier at the front of the race for nearly whole race, controlling the breakaway.

"It was expected that we would take control of the race, but we expected help from other teams, which in the end never came," Dillier sighed in an interview at Bici.Pro. "We went ahead with the program because we had confidence in our leaders and we also wanted to show them that."

Read also

OPINION | Tadej Pogacar would have already won the Milano-Sanremo if he were not Tadej Pogacar

Alpecin-Deceuninck had multiple leaders ahead of the race. Was there a clear plan before the start? "Maybe Mathieu had more cards to play in the final, so I would say he was the number one on the team. But Jasper is very fast when it comes to sprinting with a slightly larger group. Then there was also Kaden Groves, who took part in the bunch sprint and showed great form, so much so that he placed fifth. We actually had a good number of candidates to do the race."

Dillier's only job was to ensure the escapees wouldn't get too much of an advantage: "I started to pace the breakaway when it was around five minutes and I was completely alone. Pulling against eight riders is not an easy task, so if we had the help of one or two teams, we could have made the breakaway go even at seven, eight minutes. But if you are completely alone, you can't give them too much time."

After a team hat-trick on Via Roma, surely there was a good reason to throw a big celebration, right? "It depends on what you mean by party. Actually we just had a team dinner. Unfortunately some riders had to leave immediately and also many staff members for the next race. With those who stayed, we went out for a good dinner and to eat good food. Not in Sanremo, though, but near the airport in Nice. And I'll be leaving soon too."

Read also

Oude Kwaremont means Tadej Pogacar still favourite for Tour of Flanders says Sean Kelly: "Mathieu van der Poel will have to be at his best"

“Next year the Cipressa under 8min?” - Mathieu van der Poel & Tadej Pogacar plan to make Milano-Sanremo 2026 even more spectacular

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Unlock your ultimate cycling experience—subscribe today for access to the latest cycling news

Subscribe