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Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Filippo Ganna had barely shoehorned themselves into that comically narrow couch behind the Milan-San Remo podium when they found themselves being asked to cast their minds forward to the cobbled Classics. Over at the UAE Team Emirates bus, Tadej Pogačar was fielding similar questions.
It’s the most relentless time of the year. After the white-knuckle drama of the Poggio, thoughts turn rapidly to the contests ahead on the cobbles of Belgium and northern France. The cobbled Classics ‘season’ ostensibly begins with Brugge-De Panne on Wednesday, though the first real rendezvous for the Flanders contenders comes in Friday’s dress rehearsal at the E3 Saxo Bank Classic.
The outcome in Harelbeke typically establishes the final hierarchy of favourites for the Tour of Flanders – the E3-Ronde double has been completed four times in the last decade, after all – but Milan-San Remo already seemed to offer some rather firm indications as to the direction of travel over the coming weeks.
The obvious caveat is that racing on the Italian Riviera is an utterly different endeavour to competing in the Flemish Ardennes, but it’s also true that the strength of the top four on the Via Roma brooked no argument.
The margins are usually tight on the Poggio, but on Saturday, Van der Poel, Van Aert, Pogačar and Ganna were very clearly on another plane to the riders behind them. They powered clear not through sleight of positioning but thanks to sheer brute force – a sobering thought for those unable to follow.
The manner of Van der Poel’s victory strongly suggests that the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider has, as he did in cyclocross season, suddenly conjured up his very best form at precisely the right moment. After struggling during his seasonal debut at Strade Bianche, Van der Poel built up a head of steam at Tirreno-Adriatico before hitting the highest of notes at the crucial moment atop the Poggio.
Twelve months ago, Van der Poel won the Tour of Flanders and Dwars door Vlaanderen despite starting his season late due to a chronic back injury. It’s sobering to think that his condition appears to be rather more advanced at the same point this year, although Van der Poel’s rivals might be encouraged by a glance at the history books. Only three riders – Cyrille van Hauwaert, Sean Kelly and John Degenkolb – have won Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in the same year, while only Eddy Merckx himself has managed the…
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