Cycling – Van der Poel wins at Milan-Sanremo – Sport

Mathieu van der Poel was gripped by his emotions when the inescapable comparisons to his famous grandfather, Raymond Poulidor, were brought up. “It’s so special for me that I won here just like him,” said the Dutchman, who triumphed on Saturday like “Poupou” in 1961 at Milan-Sanremo, the traditional spring classic opener in the cycling.

When Poulidor, who died three and a half years ago, shot down the Via Roma, at that time still without a helmet and high-tech machine, he had saved a small lead over his competitors to the finish. Van der Poel did a similar thing, celebrating alone 15 seconds ahead of hour record holder Filippo Ganna, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar. He added another chapter to his impressive CV: He is a five-time cross country champion and has won various one-day races, including the Tour of Flanders twice. He also wore the yellow jersey for six days on the tour in 2021. But Milan-Sanremo, one of the five “Monuments”, was always particularly dear to van der Poel – and now he won it, with the second fastest hourly average ever in the 114 editions of the classic.