The winner, Jasper Stuyven, said in the press conference: “We knew that on the Poggio everyone was waiting for the big explosion [of the peloton]. I managed to stay in the front group. At the top of the hill, I decided that I would attack and give it all or nothing, rather than finish between 5th to 10th place. There were no helpers left in that group, but the big 3 [Van der Poel, van Aert, Alaphilippe] were there, I knew they would look a little bit at each other. The one who’d close the gap wasn’t going to win. After the downhill, I could go on the left side and put a big gear on. I handled thirty seconds of big pain. I saw Soren [Kragh Andersen] was coming. It was nice to get a bit of help. He kind of attacked and put me on the limit but he was at the limit too. I had to believe in my chances until the end. They were coming from the back. It was the hardest final meters of my career, but I’ve won other races in a similar way. It’s one of my strengths, to stay out front if they give me the gap. Winning a Monument this way is really nice. It’s normal that pre-race favourites were designated, based on how those three were riding. If I had to go one against one of them, there was a big chance that they were stronger than me. I said in a lot of interviews that they’re strong and fast but that doesn’t mean I’m on the start line of a race to just finish fourth. That’s my approach to every race. If you believe in yourself, they’re not unbeatable, that’s the right mentality for winning.”
Runner up, Caleb Ewan, said: “The first time that I came second in Milano-Sanremo [2018] was a really good result. Today, it confirms that I can potentially win the race one day. But I’m pretty disappointed actually. I knew I was coming to the race in good form and I really targeted it through my planning. I tried to improve my climbing for the Poggio and I planned for the attacks on the climb before this race. I was in a really good position up the hill. When they went I was obviously suffering a bit but I still had enough left to follow them. It would have been nice to have a teammate or two to keep the group together. It’s always a lottery in that situation. I took a risk at the end as that’s what I had to do to win. In the end, we waited too long. Hopefully next time…”
Third-place, Wout van Aert, said: “It was, like always, a fast descent of the Poggio. Once we hit the bottom, Jasper went on the attack, which was a really good move. It was a bit hard for me to chase and a lot of the guys were looking at me. I just came short at the end and Caleb Ewan was a bit faster. Because of the high number of favourites, there was still a big group at the top of the Poggio. I attacked and Julian Alaphilippe did too but apparently it wasn’t fast enough. It was still a good opportunity for me to have a sprint at the end of a long race. Nevertheless we have a nice winner and I have to be satisfied with third place.”
#MilanoSanremo