{"id":1843787,"date":"2026-03-24T03:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T00:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1843787"},"modified":"2026-03-24T03:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T00:53:17","slug":"tadej-pogacar-defied-all-odds-to-win-milan-san-remo-on-a-cracked-bike-frame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1843787","title":{"rendered":"Tadej Poga\u010dar Defied all Odds to Win Milan-San Remo on a Cracked Bike Frame"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated March 24, 2026 04:49AM<\/div>\n
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It seems like nothing would stop Tadej Poga\u010dar from winning Milan-San Remo.<\/p>\n

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Not Mathieu van der Poel, not Tom Pidcock, and not even a crash that left his bike as battered as his rainbow jersey skinsuit.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar\u2019s trusted mechanic Bo\u0161tjan Kav\u010dnik revealed Monday that Poga\u010dar steamed to a historic win on the Via Roma riding a Colnago that was at breaking point.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only realized at the finish that Tadej had ridden the finale on a cracked frame,\u201d Kav\u010dnik told Delo<\/em>. \u201cThe rear triangle was damaged. Fortunately, it held together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Tadej had known the condition of the bike, he would never have descended and attacked so aggressively as he tried to push Tom Pidcock to the limit,\u201d Kav\u010dnik said Monday.<\/p>\n

And that was only the start.<\/p>\n

The high-speed crash 32km from the finish that also brought down Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert put Poga\u010dar\u2019s drivetrain into malfunction and damaged his disc brake.<\/p>\n

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Consider it another layer of Poga\u010dar\u2019s miracle of San Remo.<\/p>\n

His race could have ended on the tarmac Saturday when he was the first rider down in the 50kph pile-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I crashed, I thought it was all over,\u201d he later admitted.<\/p>\n

The skidding fall tore Poga\u010dar\u2019s rainbow skinsuit in multiple places, and left his calf oozing with blood. He was visibly hobbling at the finish when he stepped off the bike in front of dozens of enraptured photographers.<\/p>\n

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Torn skinsuit and battered bike couldn\u2019t stop Poga\u010dar<\/h2>\n
\"Poga\u010dar's
Poga\u010dar\u2019s bike was as battered as his body after he crashed heavily in the lead toward the Cipressa. (Photo: Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kav\u010dnik didn\u2019t explain the extent of the damage to the frame of Poga\u010dar\u2019s Colnago.<\/p>\n

However, he did reveal\u00a0that the crash threw Poga\u010dar\u2019s disc brakes out of line and caused the rear mech of his 1x drivetrain to freeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cTadej crashed on his left side, where there\u2019s no gear shifter, but it triggered \u2018crash mode,\u2019\u201d Kav\u010dnik said Monday. \u201cHe reset it himself and didn\u2019t notice anything else wrong, so we didn\u2019t change the bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How costly might this moment be as Tadej Poga\u010dar falls just a few kilometres from the Cipressa \u2014 the group also includes Biniam Girmay and Wout van Aert! \ud83d\ude2e pic.twitter.com\/yelICXaRiK<\/p>\n

\u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) March 21, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Riding to victory on a battered bike further elevates Poga\u010dar\u2019s victory in the pantheon of epic rides.<\/p>\n

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The 27-year-old became the first reigning world champion to win Milan-San Remo since Eddy Merckx, and now only needs to add Paris-Roubaix to his palmar\u00e8s<\/em> to join \u201cthe five monument club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not even cobblestone king Van der Poel will bet against Poga\u010dar joining Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, and Rik Van Looy in completing the monument set as soon as next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cTadej not only had a stone removed from his heart, but also a stubborn thorn from his heel,\u201d Kav\u010dnik said of a Milan-San Remo victory that was proving elusive for King Pog.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor all of us, it was a special race with the drama that was happening,\u201d Kav\u010dnik told Delo<\/em>. \u201cAnd to top it off, he won even though his frame broke in the fall and the disc rubbed against the brake surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The comeback on Cipressa was \u2018hallucinatory\u2019<\/h2>\n
\"Poga\u010dar's
Poga\u010dar\u2019s victory at Milan-San Remo will go down in cycling lore.<\/span> (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Would the race have played out differently if Poga\u010dar knew his Colnago was only good for scrap?<\/p>\n

A bike change likely wouldn\u2019t have been decisive for the all-slaying Slovenian.<\/p>\n

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Van Aert proved Saturday that pausing to grab a new bike wouldn\u2019t derail a ride to the podium when he hit a sensational third-place in San Remo.<\/p>\n

But any extra delay for Poga\u010dar might have changed the complexion of the finale entirely.<\/p>\n

Longtime classics hopeful Oliver Naesen told Het Laatste Nieuws<\/em> that Poga\u010dar\u2019s return to the bunch at the base of the Cipressa was already crazy enough given the damage he\u2019d sustained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that crash, I honestly thought, \u2018We won\u2019t see him again today, and maybe not even in the coming weeks,\u2019\u201d Naesen told HLN<\/em>. \u201cBut a moment later, I saw him \u2013 with a black flank \u2013 already passing me on the Cipressa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was seeing, but I knew what time it was \u2013 the show was about to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pogi Show might never have aired had he started the climb 30 seconds further back.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udd25 POGI GOES! Only \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddf1 Mathieu van der Poel and \ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf9 Filippo Ganna can follow! <\/p>\n

Also, the trio climbed la Cipressa in 8’45”. #MilanoSanremo presented by @CA_Ita pic.twitter.com\/ZOqymAmAsM<\/p>\n

\u2014 Milano Sanremo (@Milano_Sanremo) March 22, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Another race, another climbing record for Poga\u010dar<\/h2>\n

Poga\u010dar\u2019s ride on Brandon McNulty\u2019s wheel from the back to the front of the peloton on the Cipressa in time to deliver his long-hyped move \u201cshouldn\u2019t\u201d be possible.<\/p>\n

The cycling rulebook decrees that optimal positioning at the base of the 5.7km hillock is essential to solving the riddle of San Remo.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is one of the most impressive feats I have ever seen,\u201d Naesen said. \u201cNormally you stand no chance if you don\u2019t start Cipressa in the top-20, but they just flew right past.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not all \u2013 Poga\u010dar\u2019s ascent of Cipressa was the fastest on record.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hallucinatory,\u201d Naesen recounted. \u201cChampion behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Poga\u010dar\u2019s messed-up San Remo machine? That\u2019s one bike he won\u2019t be putting up for auction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bike will now go into his special collection,\u201d Kav\u010dnik promised.<\/p>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated March 24, 2026 04:49AM<\/div>\n
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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/pogacar-won-san-remo-broken-bike\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-6.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated March 24, 2026 04:49AM It seems like nothing would stop Tadej Poga\u010dar from winning Milan-San Remo. Not Mathieu van der Poel, not Tom Pidcock, and not even a crash that left his bike as battered as his rainbow jersey skinsuit. Poga\u010dar\u2019s trusted mechanic Bo\u0161tjan Kav\u010dnik revealed Monday that Poga\u010dar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1843787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1843787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843787\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1843787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1843787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1843787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}