Van der Poel and Visma | Lease a Bike didn't really understand UAE's tactics: "Not the smartest move"

"We were short by ten percent on the Cipressa and afterwards, which meant we ultimately had to wait too long on the Poggio," Pogacar concluded in his flash interview. "As a result, the race was not hard enough, but I still tried with two attacks. I had incredible legs, but this edition was not tough enough for the climbers."

UAE-Team Emirates wanted to make it a tough edition regardless, but when the Cipressa came, only Isaac Del Toro, Tim Wellens and Pogacar were at the front. "We were saying in the car that they started going full throttle early, while they were not yet well assembled. As a result, a number of riders had to make an effort to come to the front, so maybe they should have waited a bit longer and then tightened the screws. Now they actually stopped," says Arthur van Dongen, team director at Visma | Lease a Bike, when asked.

Van der Poel was bracing himself for the Cipressa, but according to him, that climb turned out to be a non-event. "UAE was not well organized, so it was not as tough as expected. It was a hard race because they already started pushing on the Capi. But on the Cipressa and Poggio, it was full throttle only a couple of times. They have climbed faster in the past," said the world champion.

Starting so early? It was announced beforehand, but according to Van der Poel, "not the smartest move". Because you could see that they didn’t set up well on the Cipressa afterwards. We had somewhat expected that. Maybe Lidl-Trek was the strongest team to do it, but now it was a bit doubtful. Maybe Jasper (Philipsen, ed.) actually won because of that tactic, yes. Everyone expected the fastest time on the Cipressa, but it might have turned out to be the slowest. That’s racing, it’s also difficult for them to control the race."

In his analysis, winner Philipsen referred to a stroke of luck, as the top riders repeatedly paused in the absolute finale. Therefore, he was able to make it across the Poggio with them and sprint for the win. "We knew what UAE’s plan was. They just wasted a lot of energy and wasted the strength of certain men. They ultimately went all-in on the Poggio, and that’s where Pogacar went for it too. Luckily, they hesitated."