Pogacar bounces back from crash to win astonishing edition of Milan-Sanremo

Tadej Pogačar claimed one of the most dramatic editions in Milan-Sanremo's history, recovering from a crash before the Cipressa to claim the elusive Monument.

The Slovenian had Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) for company on the Via Roma, but he just about pipped him in the two-up sprint, while Wout van Aert (Visma) clipped away from the chasing group to claim third.

Pogačar and Pidcock had escaped with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) on the Cipressa with 23km still to go, when Pogačar launched a typically rasping onslaught on the climb despite chasing back on after a crash barely 10km earlier.

Pidcock looked the more comfortable in resisting Pogačar there, and he was savvier than Van der Poel on the approach to the Poggio, opting out of a few turns to save himself for the climb. 

Once the ascent began, Pogačar’s renewed onslaught quickly did for Van der Poel, but Pidcock stuck assuredly to the world champion’s wheel on the 3km of the Poggio that remained. Pogačar made one final onslaught in the final kilometre of the Poggio, but Pidcock would not be moved, and they began the descent into Sanremo with a winning lead on Van der Poel.

Pidcock took some turns on the descent of the Poggio, but his descending skills weren’t able to trouble Pogačar, and the scene was set for a two-up sprint on the Via Roma. 

Van der Poel was caught at the foot of the descent, where Lidl-Trek had cut the gap to 20 seconds on behalf of Mads Pedersen. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) made a lone attack in the finale and secured third.

The race had taken its most dramatic turn with 32km to go, when Pogačar crashed at the head of the peloton as the speed ramped up in Imperia on the approach to the Cipressa. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) was also a faller and Van der Poel was delayed by the incident, which threatened to derail Pogačar’s challenge.

Astonishingly, Pogačar was quickly back on his bike despite cuts to his left shoulder, side and hip, and he gave desperate chase. Van der Poel latched on just before the Cipressa, while Pogačar made contact just as the climb began, and the crash made no difference to his preordained tactics.

Brandon McNulty guided him to the very front of the peloton on the climb and the American put in a sterling shift of pace-making before Isaac del Toro took over on behalf of Pogačar. 2.5km from the top of the Cipressa and with 23km to go, Pogačar launched the most vicious attack that only Pidcock and Van der Poel could follow.

That trio immediately opened a 20-second lead over the bunch as Pogačar continued to pile on the pressure. He eventually sought a turn from Pidcock a kilometre or so from the summit before he hit his companions with a rasping acceleration 400m from the top.

Pidcock and Van der Poel held on as Pogačar set a new record time – an eyewatering 8:48 for the Cipressa – and they had half a minute on the Lidl-Trek led peloton when they crested the summit.

Despite the headwind on the Via Aureliana, Mads Pedersen’s teammates initially struggled to make serious inroads on the approach to the Poggio, where Pogačar, Van der Poel and Pidcock were working in harmony. But they lost momentum on the approach to the Poggio, with Pidcock smartly opting out of some turns, and the gap was slashed to just eight seconds by the time they started the climb. 

Pogačar began his onslaught again almost immediately, and he surprisingly succeeded in dropping Van der Poel, who faced a stiff task to stay in contention with 3km of the Poggio still to go. One down, but Pogačar still had to find a way to shake off the dogged Pidcock, who would stick with him all the way to the Via Roma.

There was something of a false start at this edition of Milan-Sanremo, with a group of early attackers inadvertently directed down the wrong road shortly after the race had left Pavia. Soon afterwards, the day’s early break took shape, with Martin Marcellusi, Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF-7 Saber), Lorenzo Milesi, Manlio Moro (Movistar), Andrea Peron, David Lozano (Novo Nordisk), Dario Belletta, Mirco Maestri (Polti-VisitMalta) and Alexy Faure Prost (Picnic-PostNL) forging clear. 

That group quickly established a four-minute lead, with Alpecin-Premier Tech leading the peloton behind, while Pogačar suffered an early blow when his teammate Jan Christen was forced out by a crash.

Come the midpoint and the summit of the Turchino, the escapees had six minutes in hand on the Silvan Dillier-led peloton. As ever, the pace and the tension began to ratchet upwards once the race hit the Ligurian coast, and the break’s lead contracted accordingly.

With 81km to go, UAE finally joined Alpecin in policing the bunch, and the gap would drop to four minutes by the time the race hit the Capo Mele with 52km to go, and it would shrink to less than a minute after the Capo Cerva and Capo Berta, where Milesi, Belletta and Maestri were the last men standing. 

UAE were increasingly prominent on the Berta, ramping up the pace to ensure they would occupy the prime real estate at the head of the bunch on the breathless run-in to the foot of the Cipressa.

There would be a wild deviation from the anticipated script, but this iteration of Pogacar seems to be stronger than any circumstances.