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Jasper Philipsen wins first Monument with Milan-San Remo victory

Pogačar and Matthews on the podium of fastest-ever La Primavera

Photo by: Sirotti
March 16, 2024
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Alpecin-Deceuninck kept the Milan-San Remo title, but it was Jasper Philipsen who claimed his first career Monument on Saturday, not last year’s victor Mathieu van der Poel. The first Monument of 2024, La Classicissima di primavera concluded with a wild, small bunch sprint where Tadej Pogačar made the podium but van der Poel had to be satisfied with 10th. It was the fastest Milan-San Remo at 46 km/h, the winning time 6:15:44. Hugo Houle was top Canadian in 77th.

The exuberant Belgian after the finish line.

The Course

The first half of the 288 km traveled south from Pavia to the first climb of the day, sharp little Passo Turchino. After a 12 km descent to Genoa, the race headed southwest along the Ligurian coast, finally reaching the three Capi at the 234 km point. Kilometre 260.5 was where 6-km Cipressa made a selection. The famed Poggio crested with 5.5 km to the line. A harrowing descent past the greenhouses led to the finish line on Via Roma.

The Canadian contingent was Hugo Houle in his sixth La Primavera and 30th Monument, and teammate Guillaume Boivin, racing his third Milan-San Remo and 13th Monument.

Seven former winners were on the start line: champion Mathieu van der Poel, Matej Mohorič, Jasper Stuyven, Julian Alaphilippe, Michał Kwiatkowski , Arnaud Démare and Alexander Kristoff.

After several hours on low simmer, the race found a breakaway of ten riders, mostly from Italian ProTeams, tipping over Passo Turchino 1:45 ahead of the peloton. Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek led the chase, while UAE-Emirates stood off a bit. As the Italian Riviera showed off, the gap increased.

‘Twas a beautiful day for a 288-km bicycle race.

The Capi

By the first Capi, Cappo Melo, the gap was still 2:00. UAE-Emirates finally got to work with 53 km to go and by Cappo Cervo the squad had chopped off a half minute. The steepest and last of the three, Cappo Berta, started with a crash at the middle of the field. UAE-Emirates carried on pacing. Christophe Laporte and Kristoff were dropped.

The Cipressa

The fugitives only had 40 seconds on the peloton by Cipressa’s foot. UAE-Emirates disappeared from the front before suddenly reappearing with intent. Isaac del Toro pulled with Pogačar behind him, shredding the group.

UAE-Emirates pours it on.

A crash in the breakaway on Cipressa’s descent contributed to its capture.

The Poggio

There was a mad scramble in the 50-strong peloton to get team leaders positioned before the turn onto the Poggio. Lidl-Trek and then Tudor grabbed the reins. Van der Poel sat on Pogačar’s wheel. Ineos took its turn driving. UAE-Emirates’ Tim Wellen seized control and strung out the group.

Pogačar attacked with 900 meters remaining. Van der Poel, Filippo Ganna and Alberto Bettiol matched him. Then a dozen coalesced before Pogačar went again but very close to the top. Van der Poel pursued.

Pogacar and van der Poel descend.

First Pidcock joined the duo, then Mads Pedersen and Mohorič. A further ballooning of the numbers caused Mohorič to attack on the downhill. He was caught with 1.3 km to go. Matteo Sobrero made a move but Pidcock came past him. Pidcock was reeled in by Stuyven and the wild sprint began. Michael Matthews had his nose out in front, his sunglasses pinging around the wheels, but Philipsen squeezed against the left hand barrier, threw his bike and earned the famous victory. Matthews was runner-up and Pogačar third.

The 2024 WorldTour continues on Monday with the 103rd Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, where Pogačar faces Mikel Landa, Sepp Kuss, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal. In terms of one-day races, the next five are in Belgium, culminating with the Tour of Flanders on March 31.

2024 Milan-San Remo
1) Jasper Philipsen (Belgium/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 6:15:44
2) Michael Matthews (Australia/Jayco-AlUla) s.t.
3) Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia/UAE-Emirates) s.t.
77) Hugo Houle (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +2:28
103) Guillaume Boivin (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +4:40