After 2023, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Deceuninck) also wins the Milan-San Remo cycling monument in 2025. Together with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) and Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers), van der Poel pulled away decisively on the Cipressa. As none of the trio was able to make a final breakaway on the Poggio, they came onto the finishing straight in threes. 300 metres before the finish, van der Poel opened the sprint himself and surprised his rivals. Ganna reacted quickly, but immediately had a small gap between himself and the Dutchman. Van der Poel then took his lead across the finish line. Ganna defended second place against Pogačar, who finished third. This is the third time in a row that a rider from the Alpecin - Deceuninck team has won the first monument of the cycling season.
Van der Poel leaves Pogačar in despair
After Tadej Pogačar rode his first attack on the Cipressa, he immediately managed to shake off a large part of his rivals. Filippo Ganna and Mathieu van der Poel were the only two riders who were able to stay on the Slovenian's rear wheel. Although Pogačar attacked again shortly before the descent, van der Poel in particular showed no weakness and constantly countered Pogačar's attacks.
Pogačar also tried to create a gap between himself and his two rivals on the Poggio with several attacks. However, he increasingly despaired of Mathieu van der Poel. Ganna had problems early on the Poggio and had to leave a gap, while the Dutchman literally stuck to Pogačar's rear wheel and parried attack after attack. It was clear to see that the Slovenian was biting his teeth out more and more on van der Poel. Before the final sprint, Ganna caught up with the leading duo again and, together with van der Poel, outsprinted the cycling top star. As in the previous year, Pogačar had to settle for third place in the end. Van der Poel, on the other hand, won "La Primavera" for the second time.
I can hardly believe it. We knew that Tadej Pogačar would be very strong. In the end, I also felt very strong myself. When I started the sprint early, I surprised them a bit and was able to keep up my pace. It's unique that our team has won here for the third time in a row. - Mathieu van der Poel in the winner interview
The results of Milan-San Remo 2025
Milano-Sanremo: Pavia - Sanremo
Milano-Sanremo 2025: Milano-Sanremo, Pavia - Sanremo
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alpecin - Deceuninck | 06:22:53 |
| 2 | INEOS Grenadiers | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Team Jayco AlUla | +000:00:43 |
| 5 | Alpecin - Deceuninck | +000:00:43 |
| 6 | Uno-X Mobility | +000:00:43 |
How Milan-San Remo 2025 went
The 289-kilometre race between Pavia and San Remo started in rainy conditions. The first attacks came immediately after the race began, before Tommaso Nencini (Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini), Alessandro Verre (Arkea - B&B Hotels) and Martin Marcellusi (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizane) were able to open up a gap after a short time. A short time later, a quartet consisting of Mathis Le Berre (Arkea - B&B Hotels), Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto), Mark Stewart (Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini) and Filippo Turconi (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizane) broke away and joined the leading trio shortly afterwards. After Kristian Sbaragli (Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini) also successfully attacked from the peloton, there was an eight-man lead group after around 35 kilometres of racing.
She quickly built up a lead of almost 6 minutes. However, the lead then dropped again and levelled out at around 3:30 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, Alpecin - Deceuninck managed the pace in the peloton. Silvan Dillier rode in the wind for a long time and controlled the peloton.
Dillier with tracking work
The race situation remained stable for a long time afterwards. Silvan Dillier was at the front of the peloton most of the time, while the four Italians, two Frenchmen and one Briton rotated diligently in the breakaway group.
Before Capo Mele, around 60 kilometres before the finish, the race regained momentum. At first, the INEOS Grenadiers team took the reins. Geraint Thomas took command of the peloton and increased the pace. At Capo Mele itself, UAE Team Emirates - XRG also took the lead. The breakaway's lead was suddenly reduced to around two minutes. Nencini was the first rider to run into problems and drop out of the escape group.
Runaway Marcellusi puts up a good fight
At Capo Berta, around 40 kilometres before the finish, the breakaway group flew apart. Martin Marcellusi broke away and was alone at the front from then on. Meanwhile, the peloton continued to close in. One by one, the riders in the lead group were picked up by the peloton. INEOS Grenadiers was particularly active in the chase. With 30 kilometres to go, Marcellusi's lead over the peloton was only less than 30 seconds.
Preliminary decision at the Cipressa
At the foot of the Cipressa, the valiantly fighting last escapee Martin Marcellusi was swallowed up by the peloton. UAE Team Emirates - XRG went full throttle on the Cipressa, first with Tim Wellens and then with Jhonatan Narvaez. With 25 kilometres to go, the team's increase in speed led to an attack by Tadej Pogačar. Filippo Ganna and Mathieu van der Poel immediately jumped on Pogačar's rear wheel. After a further increase in speed by the Slovenian, Ganna had problems keeping up with the duo. In the end, however, the Italian came back to the duo and extended it to a three-man constellation. At the top of the Cipressa, the decimated peloton had a gap of 30 seconds. There were only around 15 riders left - among others, co-favourite Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck) had dropped out of the chasing group.
"Pogi" bites his teeth out on the Poggio
Immediately at the foot of the Poggio, Tadej Pogačar launched his next attack. Although Filippo Ganna had to let go, Mathieu van der Poel remained on the Slovenian's rear wheel. Shortly afterwards, Pogačar launched two more speed attacks, which van der Poel was able to counter. It was clear to see that the UAE rider was despairing of the Dutchman's strength. Shortly before the crest of the climb, van der Poel stepped up the pace himself. However, Pogačar was still strong enough to parry and stay in the lead even after the many speed increases.
Ganna catches up - van der Poel wins Milan-San Remo 2025
On the subsequent descent, Filippo Ganna, who had fallen behind, took full risk and gradually closed the gap to the leading duo. The time had come in the final kilometre. Ganna turned onto the home straight together with van der Poel and Pogačar. After moments of lurking, van der Poel surprised his two rivals with an early sprint. The Dutchman took the win ahead of Ganna and Pogačar. The remaining peloton then crossed the finish line over half a minute behind. The bunch sprint of the decimated peloton was won by Michael Matthews (Team Jayco - AlUla). He finished fourth.
