Detuninck-Quickstep, which last year won Milan-San Remo for the first time in 13 years with Julien Alaphilippe, came within half a step of becoming the first title holder since Eric Zabel in 2001 on Saturday afternoon.

The Frenchman again launched a decisive attack at the top of the Poggio, just 6.5km from the finish in San Remo, pulling away from the peloton on the famous hill and leaving almost all of his rivals in the dust.

Strade Bianche winner Wout Van Aert joined Alaphilippe on the descent with Alaphilippe in his sights and outpaced him by several centimeters on the Via Roma.

Alaphilippe said afterward that he was both pleased and disappointed about the result.

He had to change bikes just before Chipressa. He put the bike back on before the climb, but who knows what the cost was. Perhaps it was the few extra watts he needed to completely pull away from Van Aert at Poggio or to beat him in the sprint.

"It's certainly a mixed bag," Alaphilippe said shortly after the race.

"I'm really happy to be on the podium. He was the leading contender and deserved to win.

"I went full throttle in Poggio and he came with me. In the downhill, I knew I couldn't make the difference alone, so we worked together until the last two kilometers. In the end it was a tough sprint, with both of us racing each other, but in the end the stronger one won.

Alaphilippe came into the race as the main leader of the Dečuninck-Quickstep (an obvious choice given his 2019 success), but the Belgian team had several options, with five riders running together after Chipressa.

Zdenek Stival was ultimately the team's runner-up, while Bennett battled the chase group in Poggio but was unable to stay in the end.

"It felt different from previous years. It was a harder race," the Irish champion said after the finish.

"The heat got to me. I think a lot of the racers were hit by the heat. In this parcours it felt harder because the race started earlier and I've only been racing for a week."

"It was a bit of a challenge,"

"I think it was a bit of a challenge for me.

"In Poggio I didn't have the legs to do anything. Alaphilippe was strong and almost won. I even had a flat tire at the top of Poggio, but it didn't matter. I blew it and the tire blew."

Aside from the disappointment in San Remo, Dečuninck-Quickstep was able to taste success at the end of a difficult week for the team after Fabio Jacobsen's crash in Poland. Remco Evenpoel won the fourth stage of the Tour de Pollogne in impressive fashion, and was crowned overall winner on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe heads to the Criterium du Dauphiné next week for the Tour de France at the end of the month. Bennett will also compete in the Tour de Wallonie in France in September.