Superhero Pogačar wins Milan-San Remo
Not even a dramatic crash before the Cipressa can stop the astonishing Pogačar
When is a skin suit really, actually, a skin suit?
When Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) suddenly crashed hard along with Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson, everyone’s heart went into cardiac arrest. Six kilometers before the predicted Pogačar race-winning attack, he slammed violently to the pavement.
For a few moments, it actually looked like his chance of winning Milan San Remo was over. Miraculously, it appeared he hadn’t broken anything — his collarbone, his wrist, his ribs, his spirit. It seemed almost freakish and astonishing that he simply jumped back on his bike and powered up his legs.
His skin suit was shredded from shoulder to his ass cheek. Road rash along the entire left side of his body. Blood ran down his lower left leg. The peloton was already flying toward the Cipressa and the gap was opening up.
His crash did nothing to hold him back. With the help of teammates, he was quickly back at the front as they raced to the base of the Cipressa. Like that disaster never happened, like we’d just somehow imagined it.
On the Cipressa, his teammate Brandon McNulty drove a hard pace the quickly strung things out. Plan A for winning his first Milan San Remo back on track. Then Super climber Isaac Del Toro took over when McNulty blew. The Mexican hit a higher gear until Pogačar shot past him and it was race on and perhaps race over.
Only two rivals could follow: Last year’s MSR champion Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech) and recent Milan-Torino winner Tom Pidcock (Pinarello–Q36.5 Pro Cycling). The rest of the challengers disappeared, down the road and out of sight.
The three men blasted up the Poggio di Sanremo and Pogačar hammers them again. Pidcock keeps the wheel and Van der Poel doesn't. The defending champion has nothing left in the tank.
Now, it’s a two man game and a mad chase behind. One of these two stars will win their first Milan San-Remo. Will it be the man with the shredded skin suit or the upstart Pidcock, a previous World and Olympic champion in the world of cross country mountain biking. He’s won Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold — could he take the Italian Monument?
The Englishman, a master descender, takes the front on the technical downhill into San Remo. Pogačar sticks right behind him while a furious chase behind cuts the gap to 15 seconds, with Mads Pederen and Wout van Aert hoping for the miracle catch.
Onto the long promenade go Pogačar and Pidcock. No cat and mouse, no games to play, the peloton too close to mess about. The surprise is that the Slovenian takes the front with his rival gaining the advantage of the slipstream.
Pogačar doesn’t wait for the attack from his adversary, instead launching his own bid for glory. Pidcock responds in an instant and for an instant draws side by side, each man bursting to the finish line.
298 kilometres from Milan to San Remo and it comes down to half the length of a front wheel to decide victory. The World Champion, resplendent in his ripped and filthy UAE kit, nails his first La Classicissima di Primavera.
We are officially done with the “Better than Merckx?” narratives. Could Eddy have crashed before the Cipressa, been practically run over by several other riders, then remount and re-launch his attack and win in such dramatic fashion? You’d have to ask the Belgian that question. But I think we already have our answer.