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2020 Milano – Sanremo Results

  • Ron 

Wout van Aert bested Julian Alaphilippe in a two man sprint to win the 2020 Milano-Sanremo. The win marks Van Aert’s first monument and the first monument win for Team Jumbo-Visma since the Rabobank era.

Van Aert, who was labeled a top favorite by many, has had a successful week in Italy. He won Strade Bianche last weekend and sprinted to third place in Milano-Torino. It is Team Jumbo-Visma’s seventh victory of the season after a bizarre week that was overshadowed by the serious incident in the Tour of Poland. Van Aert: “Unfortunately it was a week with intense and mixed emotions. I am happy to be able to deliver this beauty to the team.”

In the 305 kilometre-long Milano-Sanremo, seven leaders escaped quickly. Partly due to the hard work of Antwan Tolhoek, they did not get much space. The race started on the Cipressa. Van Aert was well positioned in the peloton the entire time. Alaphilippe launched the decisive attack on the Poggio. Van Aert followed, but had to leave a gap just before the top. In the descent the two riders came together again. The chasing group came close, but the Belgian timed his sprint perfectly. Alaphilippe came close, but Van Aert took the longest on the Via Roma.


Photo POOL BETTINI/LaPresse, August, 08 2020 Milano (Italy), 111 Edition Milano Sanremo – from Milan to Sanremo – 305 km, In the pic: during the race.Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma), Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step)

“The effort on the Poggio was horrible for my legs,” said Van Aert in the press conference. “But last year it was similar to hold the wheel, and Strade Bianche last week also put me in a lot of pain. Luckily, nobody stayed in my wheel. When I reached the top, somehow I tried to believe that Julian was also on his limit. Then everything was to my advantage. It would have still been possible to come across to him on the flat but as I came back on the downhill I had a good chance to win.

“Today is a special day as I won my first Monument. By the end of my career, I’d be happy to have very diverse achievements to my credit on the road as well as in cyclo-cross. As a Belgian, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are on top of my list. I climb quite well and I have a good TT. Everything except Grand Tour victories should be within my capabilities.”

Second-placed Julian Alaphilippe said: “I have mixed feelings about today, overall I am happy to be on the podium. Wout was very strong and he deserved the victory. I went full gas on the Poggio but in the downhill, I understood I could have not made the difference on my own so I worked together with Wout. It was a very hard sprint, fighting against each other. The strongest rider won.”

Third-placed Michael Matthews said: “On the second part of the Poggio I wanted to attack but a couple of riders in front of me closed me and I scraped my hand and shoulder against the wall. From that point, I could not hold the handlebar properly, but I knew my team did such a great job today and I did not want to give up. Obviously, I wanted to win today, I think I had the legs to do it but this is racing, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. In the final sprint, I gave everything, being on the podium is nice.”

Photo Gian Mattia D’Alberto – LaPresse, August, 08 2020 Sanremo (Italy), 111 Edition Milano Sanremo – from Milan to Sanremo – 305 km, In the pic: Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma), the winner, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), 2nd, Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), 3d

Van Aert was well supported by his teammates. “We were on a mission with the whole team. Antwan worked hard in the peloton. Bert-Jan Lindeman and Paul Martens kept me well in front. Then Timo Roosen stayed with me towards the Cipressa and Amund Jansen did a fantastic job on the Poggio. They were beyond themselves. That was very nice to see.”

Results:

  1. Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo – Visma) – 305km in 7h16’09”, average speed 41.958 km/h
  2. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) s.t.
  3. Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) at 2″
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