Matthews saw it coming early: “You know it’s going to happen, but following Pogacar is impossible”

Ahead of Milan–San Remo, many riders seemed hopeful of a shot at winning La Primavera. Pogacar noticed that too, which is why the Slovenian decided to attack already on the Cipressa—a move that proved to be the knockout blow for many. One rider who had certainly hoped to make a run at the win again was Michael Matthews. The Australian, who came very close in last year’s sprint on the Via Roma, was not a factor this time—like many other outsiders. After the race, he shared his thoughts in a flash interview.

“Racing Milan–San Remo in this weather was a big change,” Matthews began. “We expected that Pogacar would attack on the Cipressa—he had given a few signals beforehand. But actually following him? That’s a different thing. It just shows once again how strong Pogacar is—and Van der Poel and Ganna too.”

Matthews saw Pogacar’s attack coming but couldn’t do much himself

When UAE Team Emirates began to ramp up the pace on the Cipressa, Matthews immediately sensed what was coming. “When UAE made it hard, you just knew they were going to make a move like this. I think its his best possibility to win."

Matthews, who finished second last year, quickly realized it wasn’t going to be his day. “Honestly my legs were quite lactated all day. I'm really struggling in the cold unfortunately. When the sun came out in Nice, I was better but. The sprint was good though. But unfortunately it was only for fourth place not for first. Pretty early on, I knew Van der Poel, Ganna, and Pogacar would be hard to catch.”

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Matthews finished second in Milan-Sanremo last year

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