The first monument of the year was the first confrontation between the two giants of the one-day races of world cycling, but neither Tadej Pogacar nor Mathieu Van de Poel managed to make the race hard enough in the final part and the victory eluded them. of hands on the finish line.
The Dutchman celebrated, however, that despite not being able to repeat his victory from last year, he did collaborate in the victory of his Alpecin teammate Jasper Philipsen.
A sprinter of enormous prestige, the Belgian registered his name for the first time in the Classicissima for just one tubular, the advantage with which he won the Australian Michael Mathews at the finish line.
A group of about twelve units arrived at Via Roma with options. But the big battles took place before, on the climbs to the Cipressa and the famous Poggio (3.7 km at 3.9% and maximums of 8%).
In both, the UAE worked for Pogacar, who attacked with 7 kilometers to go. Van der Poel went to his wheel, but on the descent of the Poggio they were caught by the rest of the pursuers, who thus prevented the face-to-face that the public had been waiting for. Pogacar finished third.
