2023 Milan-San Remo was the second fastest release of the 114-year-old Italian monument ever, thanks to strong tailwinds on the Ligurian Mediterranean coast.
The combination of these winds, good legs and motivation Matthieu van der Pool in the record book, and rider Alpecin-Deceuninck set a new best time to climb Poggio.
His solo attack at the top of the last climb led him to a solo victory on the Via Roma.
Van der Poel completed the 3.7 km Poggio in 5 minutes 40 seconds, according to experts who analyzed the race via video footage.
This is three seconds faster than the 5:43 set Tadej Poagacar, Filippo Ganna and Wut van Aert. And another three seconds faster than the previous record by Maurizio and Laurent Jalaber in 1995. Other sources give slightly different times, but van der Poel was in record form.
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Ganna finished second on the stage and Van Aert finished third.
“I think Milan-San Remo is probably the only monument where you can get in the top five with drivers like Pogacar, world time trial champion and hour record holder like Ganna and of course Wut van Aert. So many riders can win it, but only one,” Van der Poel said.
Crossing the finish line with victory in hand, Van der Puel also inscribed his name in Milan-San Remo’s long history this year as the first Dutchman to win in 38 years, following his French grandfather Raymond Poulidor to win the same monument 62 years ago.
“It’s a unique race because it’s really hard to win. You don’t always win if you’re the strongest, so that makes it especially special when you win. Few riders have won solo, so I’m proud of my performance,” Van der Pool said after winning the Milan-San Remo race in his fourth attempt. He was third last year and fifth in 2021.
Van der Poel’s average speed on the Poggio climb was 39.18 km/h. Sports Herald its calculated average power output was 564 W, or 7.5 W/kg.
Poggio is only 3.7km long and averages just 3.6% on its twisty slopes, but the rigor hits riders on the final stretch of one of the longest one-day races on the calendar and seven hours in the saddle. Poggio was added in 1960 as the last Milan-San Remo climb, giving the race its current flavor and the eternal battle between strikers and sprinters.
Overall, Van der Poel ranked second in overall speed in racing history with an average speed of 45.773 km/h. The fastest time recorded remains Gianni Bugno, who in 1990 averaged 45.806 km/h.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
