Incredible Milan-San Remo 2025 in perhaps the most spectacular edition of the race so far in the 21st century. Attacks from the Cipressa, the best riders up front, tension until the last meter, and Mathieu van der Poel, who once again left Tadej Pogacar with a bitter taste in his mouth, pulling out every trick in the book, but once again he couldn’t shake off the toughest race to win.
It’s hard to find adjectives to describe a cycling race when the best cyclists of the moment team up to put on a spectacle that no one thought was possible in today’s cycling. But we are fortunate to live in the era of Tadej Pogacar, who is the disruptive force of this sport, and best of all, he has collided with the best Mathieu van der Poel, currently the only one who can spoil the Slovenian’s day.
A Milan-San Remo race that started in Pavia under infernal weather, with heavy rain and cold weather following the peloton in the first hours of the race, while an eight-member breakaway, without any notable names, made its way with the approval of the group.
Fortunately, upon reaching the coast, the weather changed completely, and the race lived up to its nickname, “La Primavera,” with perfect conditions for the finale. Meanwhile, the kilometers ticked by without a UAE Team-Emirates team appearing anywhere near the front. It wasn’t until the arrival of the leaders that the teams with victory contenders began to take up positions, progressively accelerating the race in a slow-burning process leading up to the first climax of this Milan-San Remo 2025 season.
They entered the Cipressa with an already unbridled pace, and a formidable Tim Wellens took the lead of the group, pushing the pace, pushing himself to the limit, despite Tadej Pogacar failing to get off to a good start on the climb and having to fight back from approximately 20th place with invaluable help from Jhonatan Narváez, who, once at the front, took over from a Tim Wellens who was already asking for time.
Narváez’s entry meant the pace redoubled to the point of destroying the peloton in a way that hadn’t been seen in this race for more than a quarter of a century. And the Ecuadorian continued to accelerate in preparation for what was happening, even though none of us thought that was possible in today’s cycling.
But yes, it was real. There was Tadej Pogacar launching a furious attack with Filippo Ganna, Mathieu van der Poel, and Romain Gregoire in his wheelhouse. A sustained, crescendo-like attack that freed the Frenchman and made Ganna suffer to the point that Van der Poel had to overtake him to close the gap.
Not content with that, Pogacar would try again with a kilometer and a half to go, albeit with identical results. However, the 32 seconds at the summit and Isaac del Toro, who was blocking any attempt in the peloton, consolidated the gap.
On the dangerous descent of Cipressa, the three understood each other perfectly, and at the bottom, the lead was already down to 50 seconds, confirming that the impossible had happened. Victory would come from an attack on Cipressa. However, despite Pogacar being clearly the stronger rider, on the liaison section toward the Poggio, propelled by a favorable wind that wanted to join in the spectacle, the three understood each other perfectly, never speculating. Pure spectacle.
As they took the turnoff toward the Poggio, Pogacar, determined to take no prisoners, took off in the first meter, cutting off Filippo Ganna, who, however, refused to give up and kept up his full effort without losing sight of his rivals.
Meanwhile, attack after attack, Tadej Pogacar tried to break the resistance of Mathieu van der Poel, who had to endure the unimaginable. In one of these attacks, he even seemed to give up a few meters, and only the arrival of one of the Poggio’s tight corners, where cyclists have to brake despite the climb, allowed the Dutchman to save the day.
And just when we were all expecting Tadej Pogacar’s definitive attack on the 8% ramp leading into the village of Poggio, a twist arrived that Hitchcock himself could have imagined: a furious attack by Mathieu van der Poel that even clearly took out Tadej Pogacar’s wheel, who this time refused to let history repeat itself from two years ago. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider struggled to the limit to close an impossible gap and keep his chances of winning this 2025 Milan-San Remo alive.
They started the descent together, with Filippo Ganna still in sight, keeping the Dutchman and Slovenian in sight. It was a hair-raising descent, as always, although more measured thanks to the tremendous effort the three had put in on the climb. They reached the flat, and although Van der Poel and Pogacar understood each other perfectly on the flat section, Ganna used his time trial skills to connect under the banner of the final kilometer.
A three-man sprint in which the excitement was palpable, a tension that was cut with a knife until, under the banner 300 meters to the finish, very far away for a typical sprint, Mathieu van der Poel was the first to set off, from the front, with complete confidence.
A distant start surprised Ganna and Pogacar, who, despite holding onto Van der Poel’s wheel, were unable to recover, allowing Mathieu van der Poel to not only claim his second Milan-San Remo win, but also take his total to seven victories. He is undoubtedly a legendary classics rider, winning the kind of race he loves, on the day he was chosen, against the very best.
2025 Milan-San Remo Classification
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 6h22’53”
2. Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) m.t.
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) m.t.
4.- Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) 43”
5.- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) m.t.
6.- Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) m.t.
7.- Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) m.t.
8.- Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) m.t.
9.- Matteo Trentin (Tudor) m.t.
10.- Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) m.t.