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Van der Poel etched his name in Monument history last year after attacking on the summit of the Poggio before fending off the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert in the final five kilometres to the finish line.
It was a victory that carried added significance for the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider; taking place some 62 years after his own grandfather, the late Raymond Poulidor, stood atop the same podium.
Following in Poulidor’s footsteps, after nearly six-and-a-half hours in the saddle, was a scenario van der Poel had once dreamed of replicating in his career, but now, there’s another rider he’d like to emulate in Italy.
Not since Erik Zabel in 2001 has a rider won consecutive editions of Milan-Sanremo, the German even doing as much a couple of years earlier with an impressive back-to-back in 1997 and 1998.
Van der Poel certainly has the quality to repeat the trick, though he won’t have the same lead-in that prepared him for the near-300km route in 2023.
Then, the 29-year-old entered the first major Classic with both the Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico under his belt. This time, however, Milan-Sanremo will be the Dutchman’s only taste of cycling outside his dominant cyclo-cross campaign and subsequent world title.
Nevertheless, the rainbow stripes will undoubtedly help his confidence, with Milan-Sanremo representing the first event in a busy Spring calendar that includes the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Paris-Roubaix, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The 2024 route, stretching 288 kilometres, begins in Pavia for just the second time before concluding with a succession of hills in the final 60km – including the Poggio, a climb that has played a direct part in the outcome of the last six editions.
Dubbed ‘the most important six minutes in cycling’, van der Poel’s victory, too, came courtesy of this 3.6km scramble at 3.7%, and he could look to target it once again with another attack against a field full of heavy hitters.
Filippo Ganna is one rider who could pip van der Poel to the winner’s circle in 2024, in what would be a direct reversal of last year’s outcome; one that left the Italian shaking his head as he crossed the finish line.
While question marks remain over the form of Ganna, with respect to his recent run of results, Mads Pedersen is another rider who could well thrive in his place.
Coming off his best year in the professional peloton, the Lidl-Trek star possesses the necessary climbing and sprinting prowess needed to win this particular Monument – not to mention he enters Italy fresh from his overall victory at the Tour de la Provence.
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Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) are two other contenders likely to challenge in the one-day setting, as is Pogacar, who will have the backing of UAE teammates Brandon McNulty, Tim Wellens and Marc Hirschi.
Pogacar finished fourth after last year’s final throws and, despite winning other Monuments such as the Tour of Flanders and Il Lombardia, is yet to add Milan-Sanremo to his palmares after three times of asking.
As a result, the Slovenian’s bid to end that drought will further complicate proceedings for van der Poel, who himself admitted “it’s one Monument every rider wants to win one day”.
Nevertheless, van der Poel will hope it is he who prevails yet again on the streets of Sanremo, propelled by another Poulidor-inspired performance that perhaps sets the tone for a special season ahead.
