Van der Poel realizes he won Milan-San Remo for Philipsen: "That effort turned out to be quite crucial"

Philipsen survived the Poggio among the first twelve riders, after Van der Poel had covered Pogacar's attacks. The world champion then convincingly played the card of his sprinter, reeling in, among others, Matej Mohoric and Tom Pidcock. "I am proud, also of what Mathieu has done. What fantastic teamwork, it's wonderful that we could finish this as a team," Philipsen said in the flash interview.

"It's really beautiful, he helped me achieve victory last year in Paris-Roubaix, and I don't forget things like that," Van der Poel explained his decision to abandon his own chances of winning. "He said he was feeling very good, and when Pogacar went, I had to push to my limit. I was also at my limit on the descent, so when we came down and I saw Jasper there, I knew there would be attacks. There wasn’t much left in the tank in the final kilometer, but now it’s definitely empty," the world champion laughed.

Philipsen confirmed that there was contact after the descent of the Poggio, mostly initiated by the Belgian. "In the descent, I was closing a gap, and I asked – or rather begged – him to save his legs and not to ride at the front. I have to thank Mathieu a lot for what he did. He brought everything back and kept it together for a sprint. Without him, I probably would not have won, no."

Philipsen made it over the Poggio with the race leaders thanks to excellent legs, but also because the big names were all watching each other. Once the group came together, Van der Poel did not entertain the idea of winning himself, not for even a second. "It made no sense for me to jump ahead. I had to keep the pace high for Jasper, and then it's very impressive that he finishes it off. When Mohoric went, Jasper wasn’t quite there yet, so if I had gone all out, Jasper might have blown himself up. I had to wait, but I felt that I had the legs to bring everyone back, if needed. By maintaining a steady pace, I might have discouraged everyone else from attacking."

A generous gesture from the world champion, which Philipsen acknowledges too. "We understand each other well and know what each other's strengths are. Mathieu could answer the attacks, and I was lucky that they hesitated a bit. Racing together was a big advantage. In the end, Mathieu is the last person to think of himself. He likes to help others, as I did last year in Roubaix. I will never forget what he has done. I am eternally grateful to him. It was probably my only chance to win a Monument, so I hope we have more moments like this together in the coming years and that I can give something back to him."

"I prefer to win myself, but I can enjoy this," Van der Poel beams when asked. "We have helped each other quite a bit in races, and I really wanted him to have this victory. As a team, we can be proud that we have won Milan-San Remo two years in a row," he refers to his own victory from the previous year. That victory made it easier for Van der Poel to do his job. "When we were at the bottom, I knew this one was for him. Before the Poggio, he said he had good legs, so then it wasn’t a hard decision at all. Having won it last year makes it easier because I think I still had the legs to sprint. If Jasper says he’s great, I believe him and then I ride for him. It’s more relaxed racing when you’ve already won it once, but it remains a team sport. Jasper and I are always honest with each other."

Another crucial factor in the choice to have Philipsen chase victory was Tadej Pogacar. Van der Poel was the only one who could follow the Slovenian's first attack on the Poggio, but when he attacked again, the Dutchman had to dig very deep. "I was on his wheel the first time, and the second time I felt I was getting there, but that was it. I just didn’t expect him to break away again. The others were coming from behind, and I expected them to respond. However, everyone was at their limit, so it was a good effort for me to jump to him. It even turned out to be quite crucial. I think I did everything right on the Poggio and of course, I would have liked to ride to the finish with Tadej, but I really had to dig deep to catch him. I couldn’t take over immediately on the descent."

"Mathieu had the legs to win," Philipsen agrees. "But Milan-San Remo is known as the race that is the hardest to win. There are so many possible scenarios, but without him, it would never have been a sprint of ten." Fortunately, Milan-San Remo was not the main goal for Van der Poel, but just his first race of 2024. "I was in good shape and didn’t expect to be as good as last year. That was quite unique. I hope to get a bit better towards the Flemish classics, to be honest. I was among the strongest on the Poggio, so I’m happy about that."