Milano-Sanremo 2024 Race Report: Jasper Philipsen out-sprinted the group of favourites to take the win after a close battle on the Poggio and down into the streets of Sanremo. Tadej Pogačar and last year’s winner, Mathieu van der Poel cancelled each other out, but Alpecin-Deceuninck still took the win. Michael Matthews was second and Pogačar third.
Jasper Philipsen won the 2024 Milan-Sanremo. The Belgian won the sprint from the group of favourites after he was led-out by teammate and World champion, Mathieu van der Poel. Michael Matthews was a close second, Tadej Pogačar third. This was the fastest Milano-Sanremo in history.
Jasper Philipsen gives Alpecin-Deceuninck its second Milano-Sanremo in a row
Il Percorso
Last year, for the first time, Milano-Sanremo didn’t start in Milan, but in Abbiategrasso. This year there is a new starting point, Pavia, which is located a bit further south, 36 kilometres from Milan. In 2023 the riders passed through Pavia after 30 kilometres. The race is not 30 kilometres shorter, there is only a difference of 6 kilometres; 288, compared to last year’s 294 kilometres. The rest of the route is much the same. The stretch between Pavia and the Passo del Turchino is slightly longer than in the past, but otherwise it’s ‘business as usual’. The riders will cross the Passo del Turchino towards Genoa Voltri and from there they ride westwards along the coast. Via Varazze, Savona and Albenga they reach the Tre Capi: the Capo Mele, the Capo Cervo and the Capo Berta.
2024 Milano-Sanremo map
From the top of that last climb, 38.9 kilometres from the finish, it will be ‘full speed ahead’ to the last two climbs of the day: the Cipressa, which has been part of the route since 1982, and the Poggio di Sanremo, first used in 1961. The Cipressa is just over 5.6 kilometres with a gradient of 4.1%. There are opportunities here for an attack, the summit is more than 20 kilometres from the finish. This is also where the pure sprinters are left behind. The technical descent from the Cipressa leads back to the SS 1 Aurelia national road. The climb of the Poggio di Sanremo starts 9 kilometres from the finish.
2024 Milano-Sanremo profile
The Poggio is 3.7 kilometres long and has an average gradient of 3.7%. Just before the top the ramp increases to 8%. The road is narrow, with four hairpin bends in the first 2 kilometres. The descent (as everyone knows) has many narrow and treacherous bends. The last part of the descent enters the city of Sanremo. The last 2 kilometres are on long, straight roads. At 850 metres from the finish there is a left turn at a roundabout. The last bend to the finishing straight on Via Roma is 750 meters from the finish.
Top favourite at the start – Mathieu van der Poel with pantaloni bianchi
The other top favourite in Pavia – Tadej Pogačar: Will he attack on the Cipressa?
We didn’t have to wait long for the ‘break of the day’ to form: Sergio Samitier (Movistar), Romain Combaud (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Davide Baldaccini, Valerio Conti & Kyrylo Tsarenko (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Davide Bais, Mirco Maestri & Andrea Pietrobon (Polti Kometa) and Alessandro Tonelli & Samuele Zoccorato (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè).
288 kilometres to go
Not Milan, but Pavia is still a nice place to start a bike race
The 10 man escape were not given much of an advantage. Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek, with especially Silvan Dillier and Jacopo Mosca, took the front of the peloton. They kept the leading group within three minutes all day. The two tams were working for last year’s winner Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen.
The break of the day
Not too much happened on the Passo del Turchino, the first climb of the day, but the race favourites; Van der Poel and Pogačar kept an eye on the action. They were well positioned at the front, especially for the descent. All the favourites then disappeared from the front again and the team work-horses took over. Would there be attacks on the Tre Capi?
The peloton let the break go early, but didn’t want to give them too much time
The break had a long road in front of them
On Tre Capi; the Capo Mele, the Capo Cervo and the Capo Berta, it was UAE Team Emirates at the head of the peloton for the first time. Leader Tadej Pogačar had given instructions to start to make the race hard on these climbs. The leading group lost some of its advantage, but they were able to hold out for quite a while longer.
Van der Poel was back to his team car more than once in the first 60 kilometres
Just before the Capo Berta, there was the first crash. Tim van Dijke and Cedric Beullens with some others, all hit the deck. The strong pace of UAE Team Emirates men also started to cause riders to lose hold at the back of the peloton. Surprisingly, European champion Christophe Laporte was amongst them. Much more was expected from the co-leader of Visma | Lease a Bike.
The Passo del Turchino and the Mediterranean awaits
The pace was now at ‘top speed’ to the foot of the Cipressa. Many teams came forward which caused nervousness in the peloton. The UAE Team Emirates riders lost their place at the front for a while in the run-up to the Cipressa, but after only a few hundred metres on the climb, they were back at the front and again there was an acceleration.
At last: The peloton reaches the Mediterranean
It was Isaac del Toro who set the pace, but he looked to have done too much and had to drop back. The young Mexican couldn’t maintain his high pace and it was left to Tim Wellens to take over. Pogačar had used up most of his ‘lead-out’ men by that point. Wellens put the pressure on in the final kilometre of the climb. This thinned out the peloton to about 30 riders at the top.
Pogačar holding back for the big attack?
Only 100 kilometres to go
Two of the remaining escapees crashed on the descent as the peloton caught them. This left Bais out front of the race. It took some time for the chase to get organised in the peloton. There was also a chasing group behind that came together with the favourites. There was now quite a large group heading the Poggio.
Julian Alaphilippe will be hoping for some good luck for a change
The peloton wasn’t letting the break get too far away
It was the Tudor team for Matteo Trentin, who were the first to hit the Poggio. INEOS Grenadiers took over a little later, but we had to wait for real acceleration. It was Wellens again, he came through 2 kilometres from the top and initiated an attack by Pogačar. The Slovenian jumped 900 metres from the summit. Van der Poel saw it coming and was on the Slovenian’s wheel. As were Alberto Bettiol and Filippo Ganna.
80 kilometres to go and the break had less than 3 minutes
UAE Team Emirates moved forward for the Cipressa
The Pogačar group didn’t continue the move and a lot riders managed to join them. Pogačar took advantage of the moment and jumped away again. Van der Poel had to close a gap, but was able to close the gap on the descent. A group of about 10 other favourites were also not far back and they also rejoined on the descent.
The UAE plan for the Cipressa didn’t come to anything
INEOS were working hard for Ganna and Pidcock
Just before the end of the descent it was the dare-devil, Matej Mohorič who shot away from the group and immediately took a big lead. It was too much for the former winner and he was caught with 1 kilometre to go. There was then attempts from Matteo Sobrero and Tom Pidcock, the INEOS man looked to have the race, but they couldn’t stay away. It was Van der Poel who was pulling the group together for Philipsen was still in the group.
Pogačar couldn’t get the gap he wanted
Mohorič’s late attack looked promising for a while
Van der Poel ensured that the Belgian was in the perfect position to sprint for the win. Michael Matthews looked like he might take the big win that he has been trying for all his career, but Philipsen came past on his inside next to the barriers to win Milano-San Remo. Matthews had to make do with second, Pogačar sprinted to third place ahead of Mads Pedersen who had been piloted well by Jasper Stuyven. Bettiol finished fifth and a happy Van der Poel finished in tenth place.
It was close
Jasper Philipsen – Did I win?
2024 Milano-Sanremo winner, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “It’s an incredible feeling to win Milano-Sanremo. It makes me really proud and happy, especially after the lead out I got from Mathieu van der Poel. It was a fast race all day but I was feeling very good all the time. I believed in myself but everything had to go to perfection. I managed to come back. I wasn’t used to sprint after 300km and I could feel the difference. I didn’t expect Michael Matthews to be that good but I’m glad I managed to beat him.”
2024 Milano-Sanremo podium
Milano-Sanremo Result:
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 6:14:44
2. Michael Matthews (Aus) Jayco AlUla
3. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
4. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
5. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
6. Matej Mohorič (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
7. Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Dstny
8. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Lidl-Trek
9. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step
10. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck.
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