Mathieu van der Poel believes he found 'extra percentages' in Tirreno and mentions who he will target on Poggio

Tirreno-Adriatico is also over for Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutch rider of Alpecin-Deceuninck attacked in the final stage, but INEOS Grenadiers had other plans, so he could not make a real bid for the stage victory. In the end, it was mainly about Van der Poel's reaching the finish safely.

Before the stage, he looked back on his Tirreno-Adriatico with Sporza. "I feel good, which is a victory considering the weather over the past few days. I needed this to prepare for the classics," said Van der Poel, who will ride the Milan-Sanremo on Saturday and then travel to Belgium for the cobbled classics.

"Of course, it's a pity I couldn't win a stage. That was my goal, after all. I had a few good days. But it didn't work out," said Van der Poel, who is not discouraged. "An extra stage win in the Tirreno would not change much more on my list of achievements, but that doesn't change the fact that I would have liked to win. I was also close."

As he had said beforehand, Van der Poel finally reached the finish line in San Benedetto del Tronto without any scrapes. "I'm not going to take any more unnecessary risks. It's been good." Sanremo outsiders Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) crashed in the final meters.

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Van der Poel mentions his rivals in Sanremo

All in all, Van der Poel was a satisfied man. "I think I found the extra few percent I was looking for here," said the Dutch rider, who also knows who to keep an eye on on Saturday. "That's not difficult: the prominent riders in the race. In this Tirreno, that was mainly Filippo Ganna. He has already proven that he is a potential winner for Milan-Sanremo. Mads Pedersen is also doing well in Paris-Nice. And then there's Tadej Pogacar, who is still at home."

Heading into Saturday, MVDP is mainly going for the well-known super-compensation. "Mostly resting and giving myself a boost now and then in training. I feel ready for what's to come."

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Milan and Ganna team up to outsmart and overpower the Dutch in Tirreno: Magnier and Stuyven crash

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