Pogačar Does It! San Remo Challenge Is Finally Conquered

Tadej Pogačar pulled off a stunning win at Milan-San Remo on Saturday, outsprinting Tom Pidcock by half a wheel after suffering a big crash earlier in the race.

The UAE Emirates-XRG leader was left with a frenzied chase after falling with 33km to go, only rejoining the back of the peloton at the bottom of the Cipressa, then slicing through that group to return to the front.

He launched a huge attack with 24.4km to go and dropped everyone bar Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech). Those three raced on to the Poggio, with another surge by Pogačar seeing off Van der Poel early on but Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) managing to hold on to this and other attacks.

The duo raced on to the finish together where a battle-scarred Pogačar launched the sprint and held off a hard-chasing Pidcock by half a wheel.

“When I crashed, for a second I thought it was all over,” he admitted. “To crash just before the most important part of the race is not ideal. But I was luckily back on the bike and not too much damage to me or the bike, [just] a little bit.”

He admitted he was worried to lead out a sprint against Pidcock, given that the Briton is a punchy rider.

“I was a bit afraid when he let me go first. I was waiting as long as I could but I also know that I cannot wait too long because he has a better kick than me, probably,” he said. “In the end it was a really close. Chapeau to him.”

The victory ended a big quest to finally solve the San Remo puzzle, with previous placings of 12th, fifth, fourth, third and third finally leading to a victory.

Importantly, he has now won four of the sport’s five Monuments, with only Paris-Roubaix now left to be picked up. That will be a huge goal for him on April 12 but, before then, he will savor one of the most spectacular wins of his career.

Huge drama

Until the moment of his crash, things were more or less going completely to plan for the UAE Emirates-XRG squad. Sure, the team had lost Jan Christen early on when he and Movistar rider Orluis Aular crashed 55km into the race. But thanks to work done by other squads, Pogačar, his team and the rest of the peloton was still within striking distance of the day’s break as the climbs before the Cipressa approached.

There was however an unexpected complication for Pogačar when he hit the deck going through the town of Imperia with approximately 33km to go. Wout Van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) also fell, as did several others. Van der Poel stayed upright but was delayed and faced a chase back to the peloton.

Things were more complicated for Pogačar, the world champion’s skinsuit shredded in places and a bright red road rash on his left calf. But, helped by his team he caught the back of the peloton at the bottom of the Cipressa, and then immediately sliced through the group to return to the front with 26km to go.

Former US champion Brandon McNulty put in a huge dig to soften up the peloton, with Isaac del Toro lighting the fuse with a surge with 24.6km remaining. Pogačar kicked 200 meters later and immediately gapped all bar Pidcock and Van der Poel.

He put in a couple more digs before the summit but while Van der Poel was visibly under pressure at times, all three riders went over the top together and then collaborated between there and the start of the Poggio.

The tension was off the scale with the peloton just eight seconds back and chasing hard. Pogačar attacked almost straight away, dropping Van der Poel with his surge with 8.7km to go. He put in several more digs yet Pidcock clung on. The two went over the summit together, then plunged down the descent.

Wind is a factor

Van Aert was showing superb form after his recent return from injury and attacked from the chase group, seeking to reduce what was a 24 second gap at the bottom of the decent with 2.3km left. And while Van Aert put in a brave solo move behind to try to close, they had time to play a little cat and mouse before a flat out sprint on the Via Roma.

“When we were turning, I was really happy everybody worked,” Pogačar explained, speaking about how the trio collaborated after the Cipressa. “It was a bit of a headwind, not ideal like last year, it was a bit harder in the middle part. When we hit the Poggio it was a better wind this year [for the climb – ed.] so I tried to go all out there.

“The ideal would be to go alone but Tom Pidcock was really, really strong. Also chapeau to Matthieu, he did an amazing race also.

“But in the end me and Tom came together and I was lucky in the sprint.”

Luck likely didn’t make the difference—that was down to strength and determination—but fortune was indeed a factor earlier on when Pogačar’s high speed fall left him cut and bruised, but without the kind of injuries which would have jeopardized his win. He triumphed despite that accident, and leaves the race one step closer to his target of winning all of the monuments.