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Dani Ostanek

'I can't hold my handlebars properly anymore' – Mathieu van der Poel sheds light on the crash and injury which left him out of the running at Milan-San Remo

SANREMO, ITALY - MARCH 21: Mathieu van der Poel of Netherlands and Team Alpecin-Premier Tech meets the media press after the 117th Milano-Sanremo 2026, Men's Elite a 298km one day race from Pavia to Sanremo / #UCIWT / on March 21, 2026 in Sanremo, Italy. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images).

Two-time Milan-San Remo champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) wasn't in the mix for a third victory on the Via Roma on Saturday afternoon, the Dutchman having been dropped on the Poggio en route to an eighth-place finish.

Four seconds up the road, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) outsprinted Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) for glory at the year's first Monument, the pair having left Van der Poel behind on the final climb of the 298km race.

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