Phenomenon Van der Poel, who is the king of Sanremo who won 62 years after his grandfather – Corriere.it

He attacked on the Poggio like his grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, first at Sanremo in the year in which Gagarin took the Soviet Union into space, Hemingway shot himself, the Beatles made their debut at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the construction of the Berlin Wall began. It was 1961. 62 years after Mathieu Van der Poel, the nephew, has an aerodynamic helmet on his head instead of a cap with the visor rolled back and the radio planted in his ear instead of darkness in his mind: the Alpecin flagship, after the lunge 5.6 km from the finish line in Via Roma and the solitary ride that three giants (Ganna, Van Aert, Pogacar) are unable to boycott, he told him to push judiciously; the advantage gained on the Poggio (devoured in 5’40”, record) unbridgeable, the victory of the third Monument of his career (in his haversack VdP already had 2 Flanders) armored.

The noblest podium of a five-star Sanremo dominated by the versatility of Van der PoelDutch cross and biker, heir to the most famous family in world cycling (father Adrie was an excellent classic rider), able to take advantage of the incapacity of reaction of the very favorite Pogacar, pulled by the faithful Wellens and taken up by a Filippo Ganna in the turbo version in the only attack launched yesterday by the Cannibalino, perhaps satisfied by nine seasonal successes in 13 days of competitions. Pogacar, for one day, tries to do it Super Pippo who, mending the gap in the leading group, leads both Van Aert and the exhausted Slovenian in pursuit of VdP; it remains only to decide in which order they will present themselves at the finish line. On the downhill the icy Mathieu doesn’t bat an eyelid (I was careful, it’s useless to take risks: if I had fallen I wouldn’t have forgiven myself), the two hands on the helmet, the smile from the cover and the kiss to girlfriend influencer Roxanne seal the most beautiful day of his life: Sanremo is the race I wanted to win, pure history. And to think that at first I didn’t love it… only my fourth time, not to forget it easily: it is the only Monument in my grandfather’s palmares and this detail makes this success more special.

On the sofa where the heroes rest before the award ceremony, Mathieu finds himself next to that marcantonio of Ganna, very good with his big body to beat Van Aert champion 2020 in a surreal sprint, giving Pogacar the thrill of an unexpected fourth place (a gentleman even in defeat: No regrets, the plan was to attack but I didn’t have the strength to leave alone. Well done to the others) and to himself a second placement that smacks of the future. One day Filippo will win Sanremo – guarantees Van der Poel -, powerful uphill, tenacious downhill, capable of anything. a guy I like: on the sofa I checked on his racing schedule. It will be impossible for everyone to avoid a rapidly evolving Ganna of the species: Goofy with a long face (I wanted to give something more, it’s bad to go home without a victory: every one is lost), confirms a shiver down my spine on the Poggio (I was afraid to go after Van der Poel, I didn’t know how the women would react legs: I don’t often find myself in that situation) and to head for Roubaix (Tracking great opponents gives me morale).

As usual, Tirreno hadn’t lied
. was the viaticum of the new Dutch king (I didn’t hide: I wasn’t yet at the levels I wanted for the race, it helped me to get better prepared) and the break-in of Ganna in the unprecedented role of a man from the great classics. Even Sanremo sheds its skin before our eyes, never banal or equal to itself. After having been a land of conquest for sprinters and finisseurs, it becomes the launch pad for an enormous talent, who adds the asphalt of the Riviera to the bouquet of meadows and dirt roads. The decisive attack, 5600 m from the finish, doubling the lead (6”) he had over his pursuers, consigns him to the roll of honor an anomalous one-day racing talent (great lap racer: the only thing Vdp doesn’t) and a changing chronoman along the way. From Mister Ora to Cancellara’s heir, under the stubble the unbearable lightness of being Ganna.