Wout Van Aert did not win his second Milan-San Remo but yesterday he secured a third place that is worth much more than a simple result. The Visma-Lease a Bike Belgian rider had to abandon his hopes of victory 32 km from the finish line due to a crash. But despite this, he managed to pull off an impressive comeback, with a late attack that allowed him to reach the podium. "My legs were in excellent shape – said the Flemish rider regretfully - Unfortunately, I had to use them to chase back".

Just when there were about 5 km left before the slopes of the Cipressa, a crash in the group with all the favorites created chaos and also a state of alert among the riders, who in a few seconds saw their hopes of victory vanish. Tadej Pogacar crashed, and the same fate befell Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert who found themselves on the asphalt in an instant.

"It was a hectic moment and every time we pass through that town center (Imperia ed.) there's always some hazard, especially with those bollards on the sidewalk. It's a point where no one wants to slow down anymore. Then we collided, there were several of us riders. Maybe I would have managed to stay on my feet, but on my left and right everyone was falling anyway. In the end it wasn't a serious crash, but my bike broke".

Van Aert suffered no major injuries, but lost precious time waiting for the team car with a spare bike and then had to expend a lot of energy to rejoin the group. Many thought Van Aert's chances of success had vanished, but shortly after, Van Aert managed to reach the podium in San Remo.

"Affini waited for me right away, and Doull also pedaled at full speed all the way to the Cipressa After that, Jorgenson also needed a new bike and couldn't help me. I was at my limit but what surprised me most is that we all kept believing in it".

One of Van Aert's strengths is precisely his ability to resist difficulties and find a point from which to restart and improve. "When we caught up with van der Poel and moved forward, at that moment I knew that third place would be the best result achievable".

Much to everyone's surprise, it was the Belgian himself who launched an attack in the final. "It was a sudden idea. In that group I wouldn't have been able to sprint to third place. When I saw that only Ciccone was still working for Pedersen, I decided in a flash to attack and it worked".

Van Aert continued his solo adventure and maintained his position. An action that bodes well for the upcoming appointments.
"I don't know how it would have gone if I hadn't crashed and I don't even want to think about it. My legs were in excellent shape. But the crash made me like wet wood trying to burn. Anyway, it couldn't have gone better and you have to take and accept these results and, all things considered, given that this is San Remo and all the crazy things that happened in the race, this third place is truly an excellent result".