Tadej Pogacar won Milan-Sanremo on a cracked frame after crash

The crash came with 32 kilometres remaining, on the run in to the Cipressa. Pogačar went down at the front of the peloton, got back on quickly and chased with support from his team. He reached the bunch just as the climb began.

From there he followed his usual pattern. He moved up, attacked on the Cipressa and forced a split with Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel. The trio built a gap and carried it to the Poggio.

After the race, his mechanic Boštjan Kavčnik explained what had gone unnoticed during the race. “Only after the finish did we realise Tadej had ridden the finale on a cracked frame,” he said to delo.si. “The rear triangle was damaged, but fortunately it held together. The disc was also rubbing against the braking surface.”

There had been no indication during the race that anything was wrong. Pogačar crashed on his left side, where there is no shifter, but the bike still went into crash mode. “He reset it himself and didn’t notice anything else wrong, so we didn’t change the bike,” Kavčnik said.

On the Poggio, Pogačar attacked again and dropped Van der Poel. Pidcock followed and the two reached the top together. They went into the descent with a small advantage.

Pogačar continued to push on the downhill, taking risks without knowing the condition of his bike. “If he had known the true condition, he would never have descended so aggressively,” Kavčnik said.

The move held. The two riders stayed clear and went to the line together on the Via Roma, where Pogačar won the sprint.

The Slovenian had also raced with a different setup. He used a single front chainring, without a front derailleur, to save weight and improve aerodynamics. He also chose higher profile wheels and 28 millimetre tyres. “Our performance team calculated that this setup would be optimal for such a fast race,” Kavčnik said.

The bike will not be used again according to Kavčnik as it cannot be used anymore. “It will go into his special collection,” he said.