"Who knows what will become possible" - Adrie van der Poel surprised with Mathieu's win and eager for spring classics
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel's victory at Milano-Sanremo was the highlight of the week, and a performance which came as a shock as his form dramatically improved over the week. Among those surprised with the triumph was his father Adrie, who has analyzed Mathieu's ride on Saturday,
“I thought it was one of his strongest rides ever. Especially on the flat, I found him calm and quiet on the bike. It was stamped, it was moving forward," Adrie van der Poel told Het Laatste Nieuws. "While you saw more doggedness on those other faces. Wout, Filippo and Tadej clearly had to go deep on the Poggio. It is not an immense difference, but they were slightly less in the final”
Van der Poel only stated his season at Strade Bianche, but what he showed there and in Tirreno-Adriatico was very far from his best level. So far that he was only being considered by most an outsider for Milano-Sanremo. However, such as in 2022 - where he started his season in the monument - he sprung into great form.
“With such a short preparation and no competition rhythm, it was absolutely not easy there. And in Tirreno I was especially struck by the enormous tranquility he radiated," van der Poel senior shared. "Okay, it didn't work out the way it should. But he didn't care. He just needed that stage race to get to his best level. That was not highlighted enough. In the end, it was also the right decision of the team to keep him in Italy afterwards. It paid off.”
The tough pace was what van der Poel needed. Having assisted Jasper Philipsen to two stage wins, there was motivation within Alpecin-Deceuninck who only had their first triumph there. The motivation was a big part of the team's performance in Sanremo. Now, with this win under the bag, the pressure is off for the Dutchman, and on for most of his rivals.
“Maybe we can add a little bit more, yes. In any way. By building in extra rest or training, the numbers will have to show. And who knows what will become possible. The fact is: he already has this one. It will give him the necessary rest and make him race differently. More relaxed. Because his spring can't go wrong anyway," Adrie van der Poel concluded.
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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.
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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)...
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- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Good boy Obviously doesn’t need that much help dealing with pressure, as some have suggested. Wiser (and humbler) than many far further along their careers. About offering him the moon, recently someone came up with an explanation of the downfall of a football great (either referring to Maradona or Portuguese Ronaldo) saying it was kind of normal after coming back from the moon, except that others, including some who actually did go to the moon like Armstrong (Neil in case anyone is too switched off to realise) didn’t go through any of the same motions after coming back. A lot of how you deal with situations has less to do with the situation than with your character.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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Okay, last finish line 📷? Sorry, we can’t promise yet… 🥹 @mathieuvdpoel 🏆 @Milano_Sanremo
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