Don’t forget that MSR is a very different sprint to the end of 5 flat hours in the middle of a GT, when half the peloton is basically on a rest day. In the years when it has ended in a bunch sprint, the podiums and top 10 are very different from your usual sprint top 10. Oscar Freire has more bunch sprint wins at MSR and the Worlds than he does at the Tour de France.
Yeah, but his point was that van der Poel could never win without the Poggio against Viviani, Ewan etc. When it would be an easier finale.