Philipsen sees impressive Van der Poel building toward Milan-Sanremo: “This was extraordinary”

It took a little while, but Philipsen finally claimed his first win of the year on Wednesday in the Belgian classic. Alec Segaert made things far from certain for Bahrain Victorious, but the Belgian powerhouse was still brought back on the rising finishing straight. A very strong Philipsen then finished it off with a commanding sprint.

And that’s a good sign for Milan-Sanremo, as there had been some uncertainty about the condition of the Belgian sprint sensation. In the final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Flame of Ham took a fall, but it wasn’t serious. With a victory under his belt, there are opportunities on Saturday in Milan-Sanremo, a race Philipsen has already won once before in 2024.

But: with Pogacar and teammate Van der Poel at the start, that seems like an almost impossible task. What’s Philipsen’s mindset going into Saturday? “All in on Mathieu, our biggest asset. The only rider who should be considered capable of countering Pogi and keeping up with him on Cipressa and/or Poggio. That’s where the legs will decide. And everyone else, with the possible exception of a single rider in exceptional form like Filippo Ganna last year, will have to drop back mercilessly,” according to HLN.

The Dutchman already showed in the Tirreno that MVDP is in top form. Teammate Philipsen was also impressed. ‘I’ve seen Mathieu do some amazing things before, but this was truly extraordinary.’ Still, a victory for Van der Poel with Pogacar at the start is by no means a certainty. “Pogacar is an exceptional rider, but so is Mathieu. The two of them stand out from the rest,” said the Belgian.

However, the fact that they are far better than the rest doesn’t mean Philipsen is giving up before the race even starts. “You’ve got those kilometers in your legs anyway. And there’s always a chance, no matter how tiny. You just have to go for it. Milan-Sanremo is too important to just let slip by,” he argues in favor of starting anyway.

As for positioning for MVDP, the Belgian certainly won’t have to worry about that on Saturday. “We have a number of good guys for that,” he says. So will he operate more from the background? “I’ll be there, though. To do my thing from the second line and try to get as far forward as possible.”

But it should be clear that a sprint from a large group on Saturday is by no means certain. “It’s getting harder every year to sprint on the Via Roma with a slightly larger group. It worked out once in 2024, but I realize that another chance is slim and that everything has to fall into place for that,” says a realistic Philipsen.