'It feels more like an achievement than a close call' - Van Aert's bold attack secures podium on Sanremo return

When Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert were both involved in a big crash on the run-in to the Cipressa, a scenario where the duo would finish on the top and bottom step of the podium on Saturday afternoon on the Via Roma felt quite far-fetched. 

However, that scenario became a reality as Pogačar produced one of the most iconic performances of his career to win one of the races he desired most dearly, beating an excellent Tom Pidcock in a two-up sprint to the line.

Meanwhile, Van Aert secured a podium finish after a daring attack with 2km to go from the chase group, closing in on the front duo, and narrowly holding off a charging chase pack on the line, led by Mads Pedersen.

It marks a fine return to the race for the Belgian after a two-year hiatus, and after the finish, Van Aert admitted that he didn’t realise until just before he made his attack that the podium was still within reach. 

“No, to be honest, not really,” Van Aert told CyclingProNet when asked if he thought about what could have been possible without the crash. 

“Actually, the whole final, I felt like racing on the back foot, even only the last 2-3km I realised that we were still racing for the podium, so it felt more like an achievement than a close call,” said Van Aert. 

The crash, which occurred with 32km to go, and just 5km to the foot of the Cipressa, looked to be a decisive moment in the race, with the likes of Pogačar, Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel hitting the deck. All were able to quickly remount and begin their own frantic chases, scattered across the road. 

However, Van Aert was put at even more of a disadvantage as he needed a new bike after his previous machine had been damaged in the incident. 

When asked if the third place felt like a win considering the circumstances, Van Aert rather focused on how it was important to give it his all after the work of teammates to bring him back into the action.

“No, it never feels like a win if you finish 3rd, but yeah, I have to say it was very unfortunate,” said Van Aert. “First of all, the crash, then also it took quite a long time until I could get a new bike.”

“How the boys reacted still to stick around me to bring me back, yeah, the only thing I could do was to try and at least go for the best result possible,” said Van Aert. “Of course, it is sweeter to finish just on the podium than not.”

Reflecting on the performance of the World Champion, Van Aert admitted that he was quite stunned by Pogačar’s remarkable recovery to win the race. 

“It’s always special to stand next to him, especially with this special jersey, but I have to say I saw him next to me on the ground when he crashed, and then the next moment I saw him again was after the finish,” said Van Aert.

“So I have no idea what he has been doing, but it must have been impressive, because it was quite a hard crash, and that he still managed to get in front like that is really strong.”

This performance and result are a continuation of the progressive signs that Van Aert showed at Tirreno-Adriatico last week, indicating he is back to form following his fractured ankle in January, and it gives the Belgian much to be positive about ahead of the cobbles, where he can still dare to dream of winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, two races which have eluded him over the years. 

“I think the confidence was already good coming into this race, and of course, I’ll take a lot of positives from my performance, and it’s nice that the next races are coming soon now.”

Perhaps Van Aert can take inspiration from Pogačar overcoming adversity to break his Milan-Sanremo duck, ahead of what will be two of the most important weeks of the Belgian's season.