In the end, Filippo Ganna was second, beaten by a bike’s length, the second time in three years he’s been the first loser. But just the mere fact he was there, contesting a three-up sprint in a two-way battle on the Via Roma, was extraordinary, astonishing. On the Cipressa, where Milan-Sanremo cracked and erupted into life like it hasn’t done for 29 years, only Ganna and Mathieu van der Poel were able to keep pace with The Hunted and The Hunter, Tadej Pogačar. But as the attacks kept coming, as the changes of pace stepped up not incrementally but aggressively, Ganna was distanced – but barely. He kept hanging on, eyeballing the rear wheels of both sets of superstars, each chasing the 14th Monument between them. A trio again as they hurtled towards the Poggio, but onto the final climb’s slopes and this time Ganna was smoked, 20 seconds off the back. He had, he correctly claimed, “tried to follow the two gods of cycling.”
It was game over for the time trial supremo, so it was assumed. But he’s not the Italian Stallion, Top Ganna, the Hour Record holder without being able to reply with staggering power, with sheer brute force. Down the Poggio’s descent, and the gap kept on closing, a second every hairpin. “On the descent, I closed my eyes and said: ‘If I crash, I crash’."
With 700m to go, as Van der Poel and Pogačar began to eye one another up to settle a pulsating 30 minutes of racing, Ganna caught back on, slipping back into the duo, prompting cries and euphoria among his home crowd. "Then with one last effort I caught them and contested the sprint. I didn’t jump after them [when he rejoined the duo], I tried to control my efforts. I couldn’t go any harder."
He wasn’t to win, bested by Van der Poel’s cunning long-range sprint – "the only regret is that I didn’t try to anticipate Van der Poel’s sprint" – but my God he tried. “I couldn’t do anything more – those two guys have taken several years of my life,” he laughed. “I think this is one of my best-ever performances, but what else can I do? I can’t be happy in defeat, but to be the first loser after giving my utmost, it’s enough for me."
Tom Pidcock had said ahead of the race that there can be no singular favourite in a race as varied and as unpredictable as Milan-Sanremo, but Ganna, fresh off a second-place on GC at Tirreno-Adriatico, was definitely one of the favoured. He’s climbing better than ever – perhaps better than he thought imaginable – and yet hasn’t sacrificed his speed, nor his turbo engine. He had – has – all the ingredients to win La Primavera, but so too did the winner and his other podium colleague.
"I was up there with the world champion and the former world champion who has won a haul of Monuments, while the other one has won the Giro and Tour. I’m happy, I did my best and can’t ask for anything else. It has been a while since there was a great Milan-Sanremo like this one. I think we entertained people." You think, Filippo? You did. You definitely did.
Pogačar’s wait goes on, five desperate attempts down. Ganna registers three more. The Monument most suited to him, the one someone of his calibre really ought to win, still opposing him. Vincenzo Nibali, the last Italian victor in 2018, had to wait 10 editions before finally cracking it. How many will Ganna have to lose before he finally wins? “Some great riders need 14 years to Milan-Sanremo,” he pointed out. “I hope it doesn’t happen to me… it’d make my career far too long and far too hard.”
