While the crowd was cheering the winner in Sanremo, Mathieu van der Poel was visibly suffering on Via Roma, holding a bloodied hand resting on his bike's handlebars. Not only his hand but also his elbow had abrasions, a sign of that crash in Imperia, where many riders hit the ground.

"Initially I avoided the crash, then suddenly a bike flew into me". Mathieu Van der Poel recounts the incident on the Aurelia in Imperia that dramatically changed his Sanremo. Eighth at the finish line, 4" behind Pogacar, who dropped him decisively on the Poggio. "I didn't feel well and had difficulty moving my left hand. At some moments I even struggled to hold the bike's handlebars".

At the finish line his entire family and girlfriend Roxane were waiting for him. Dad Adrie who followed the race on iPad with mom hoping for a new victory, but also that the crash hadn't caused any damage. This year too, the Sanremo seemed destined for an exciting finale like in 2025, Pogacar and Van der Poel together with Pidcock on the Cipressa, and the Poggio as a springboard.

"On the Cipressa I wasn't feeling my best when all three of us attacked – says VdP, winner of the Sanremo in 2023 and 2025 - Of course, I tried everything and held on, but on the Poggio I had to immediately find my own pace. Everything was going well until that crash, which I tried to avoid, but then another bike came at me. I couldn't do anything and I fell. I told the team car on the radio that my hand was bothering me quite a bit, I couldn't move my left hand. I hope it's nothing serious and I'll try to recover for the upcoming races".

The challenge now moves north: in two weeks, at Easter, the Tour of Flanders, then Paris-Roubaix.