Jonathan Milan wins but learns harsh Milano–Sanremo lesson thanks to Van der Poel: “It was absolutely no fun”

Van der Poel pushed hard on the day’s only hilly section. He split the peloton wide open, ensuring that only thirty riders made it over the top of the final climb. It turned out to be for nothing, as the group came back together again. In the final kilometer, it was Edward Theuns who set up team leader Milan perfectly, who then finished it off brilliantly.

But the big Italian had to suffer immensely. “It was painful, and I have to say, thankfully,” he sighed in the flash interview. “It was a really tough week, and a tough day. I suffered a lot, and on today’s climbs it was absolutely no fun. But I have to thank my teammates. I was angry at myself after finishing seventh in stage three, but they always supported me.”

The Tirreno-Adriatico wasn’t made for sprinters, and Milan couldn’t win on the only opportunity for sprinters so far. ‘Yesterday was really tough on the bus; it was nonstop pumping all day. But they were always there for me, and today was amazing. We missed Simone (Consonni, ed.) and Max (Walscheid, ed.), who had given so much in the previous stages. But I was set up perfectly, and I’m very happy and proud of how we finished the Tirreno.’

Milan will be at the start of Milan-San Remo next week. La Primavera used to be a race for strong climbing sprinters like him, but riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, and Filippo Ganna have made that impossible in recent years. The Bear of Buja hopes to win it someday, but knows there are bigger favorites right now.

‘Right now, I just want to enjoy this stage and recover from Tirreno. We’ll see about San Remo. There are two big names, Mathieu and Tadej, and a third with Filippo. They’re very strong opponents. I hope to take a new step forward by staying with the main peloton on the Cipressa and Poggio. But we’ll see; there’s still a week to go.’