Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) had to be satisfied with his Milan-San Remo finish, but with the knowledge and obligation of an uncertain return to racing at Strade Bianche and a compactly rescheduled 2020 season that includes both the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia and seemed genuinely satisfied with his fourth-place finish after the ...

Sagan was competing in his 10th Milano-Sanremo and was looking for his first win. He has never finished outside the top 20, but he has two second-place finishes and four fourth-place finishes.

"I finished second in the sprint following an attack by Van Aert and Alaphilippe. I think I did my best in this race," Sagan said.

"Wout Van Aert is a talented young man. He was badly injured in the Tour de France, but he's bounced back.

Sagan candidly admitted that he did not have the power and form to keep up with Alaphilippe's big gear attack in Poggio and explained why.

"I'm not in as good condition as in previous years, but I'm getting better and better. My season starts in earnest with the Tour de France, so I think I'm on the right track," he suggested.

"But to be honest, after Alaphilippe attacked in Poggio, I didn't feel like I could go. After that, if there had been one or two more of us, we could have caught up. But I relaxed with 700 meters to go, and that opened up the gap again."

Sagan was apparently unimpressed with the new inland race route, as the mayors of the Ligurian coast refused to host the race.

"It was very hot Milan-San Remo, a little longer than usual, but probably more relaxed than in previous years.

"It was after the Colle di Nava that the race really got stressful. After that, Cipressa and Poggio passed by in an instant. On the new route the race was more logical and almost easy. The usual road from Genoa to Capi is much more undulating and has more pace changes."

Logical questions were raised about Daniel Os' solo attack on the descent of the Cipressa and the flat coastal road to Poggio. Perhaps it would have helped Sagan to chase the Poggio attack. But racing tactics are much easier in the armchair.

In fact, the males who worked first in Chipressa probably could not have withstood Poggio's high pace. Only the team leader remained in the 23-man group that finished two seconds behind Van Aert and Alaphilippe.

"Daniel was left in front, so I think he kept going with what little energy he had after working so hard on the cipressa. There was nothing we could do ......." Sagan said.