🎥 Visma | Lease a Bike leaves Milan-San Remo empty handed: “It became clear that isn't going to happen"

Visma | Lease a Bike experienced a Milan–San Remo filled with mixed emotions. The Dutch team was fully in the fight for victory in the women’s race but just missed out with Marianne Vos. In the men’s race, Olav Kooij was a bit further off, but an 8th-place finish still showed promise for the future. The day, however, was somewhat overshadowed by an unfortunate—and also controversial—relegation of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who was dropped from fourth place to twelfth.

First to Kooij, who improved from 14th in his 2024 debut to 8th this year—something Visma | Lease a Bike can build on. There was no stopping Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, and Filippo Ganna, but Kooij did finish in the chasing group. “When we hit the Cipressa, UAE’s plan became pretty clear,” Kooij told NOS. “At a certain point, I had to let the group go. After that, I heard in my earpiece that there were three riders in the breakaway—and not just any riders—so the chances of seeing them again were slim.”

From that point on, it was a battle for the minor placings, with an eye on the future. Victor Campenaerts, Ben Tulett, and Attila Valter helped Kooij secure a top ten. “In the chasing group, Victor still did some work at the front. You also know the second group hits the Poggio differently than if you're still racing for the win. So I knew we were probably sprinting for a minor placing. I was a bit too far back, and of course, I hope to aim for more than just top ten in the future. But for that, the race will have to unfold differently for me than it did today.”

In a press release from the yellow-and-black squad, sports director Maarten Wynants remained realistic: “We can be proud of how we presented ourselves today. We always come to win, but in the finale it became clear that wasn't going to happen. After that, we got the most out of it, and we should—and can—be satisfied with that for now. We handled it better than last year, and this result offers perspective for Olav.”

There was no victory for Visma in the women’s race either, but Marianne Vos did claim a solid, well-earned podium finish. She was the first to launch her sprint on the Via Roma, but Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime went over her. “I’d obviously rather win, but I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task in any scenario. Finishing second in a sprint against Lorena is something I can be satisfied with,” said the experienced rider. “I don’t feel like I should’ve done anything differently.”

The race unfolded perfectly for Vos, who observed that it was a chaotic debut for the women at Milan–San Remo, with the Cipressa already thinning the field due to crashes and domestiques burning out early. Vos found that getting away—something she might’ve expected from some of the riders—was no easy feat. “We’d already seen in the men’s race that you hit those climbs so hard that you really have to be incredibly strong to make a gap. When I saw Lorena still there 1.5 kilometers from the top of the Poggio, I knew what that meant.”

Her form wasn’t the issue—Vos said she felt good going into Milan–San Remo and came away with some encouraging confirmation heading into the next races. “I’m happy with how we raced as a team and that we ended up on the podium,” the veteran told IDLProCycling.com. “Having Pauline in that front group gave me a lot of peace of mind. She could attack or respond to others. She had the green light, and that allowed me to stay calm, even though it was a very nervous race with crashes—typical for a first San Remo.”

The blemish on Visma | Lease a Bike’s day was without a doubt the relegation of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Overshadowed somewhat by the men’s race finale, the French rider had to give up her hard-earned fourth place and was demoted to 12th due to an "irregular sprint." According to the jury, Ferrand-Prévot deviated from her line and was penalized for it.

It was a surprising decision, as the footage clearly shows that the Visma rider, along with much of the group, had to move around a fading Lotte Kopecky. The Belgian world champion had reeled in Elisa Longo Borghini in the absolute final stretch to launch Wiebes. Alongside Ferrand-Prévot, third-place finisher Noemi Rüegg (EF) also passed on the outside of the rainbow jersey. Ferrand-Prévot did close the door slightly on the Swiss rider as she moved left—so judge for yourself…

Ferrand-Prévot has now responded to the incident herself. The rider from the yellow-and-black squad shared her thoughts via her Instagram story: “It’s a shame I was relegated from fourth to twelfth place. I can understand that it looked dangerous, but in that situation, things are just different. But it doesn’t matter—right now, I’m mainly really happy about Marianne’s second place.”

That Ferrand-Prévot is a true champion shows in her words for teammates Imogen Wolff and Viktória Chladoñová. “A huge thank-you to the great talent Imogen, who brought me back after a crash. You’re my hero of the day. And Viktória is learning so fast. To already race at this level at just nineteen years old says it all. It won’t be long before she’s dropping everyone—including me—on the climbs, haha.”