The victory ended years of frustration for the Slovenian, who rode the race five times in the past without winning. He has now won four of the five Monuments and needs only a victory in Paris-Roubaix to join Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck, and Rik Van Looy as riders who have won the complete Monuments set. He will have the chance on April 12.
A momentous crash
The crash, in which Pogačar appeared to be the first rider to go down, also took down Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson (both Visma–Lease a Bike), as well as co-favourite Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Premier Tech), who was struck by a bike, injuring his hand. But he was the quickest of the three contenders in the crash to make it back to the peloton.
As for Pogačar: “When I crashed, for one second, I thought it was done,” he said afterwards. “It was just before the Cipressa, the most important phase of the race. If I didn’t have my team, I would just [have gone] straight to the finish before [the] Cipressa. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention, and I just slid across the tarmac. I don’t think I’ve ever made such a long slide, even in a water park. I didn’t have too much damage, and then I saw my team. They gave everything to bring me back. They gave me hope.”
He went on to say: “At first, you think it’s over, and you’re swearing in your head. But my bike was still reasonably okay, and then I saw Florian Vermeersch and Felix Großschartner. They brought me back on the Cipressa, and after that, [Brandon] McNulty and [Isaac] del Toro did an amazing job.”
He was about 30 seconds behind the peloton when the chase began. Van Aert had to wait for a new bike and lost over a minute. He would not be seen on screen again until the end of the race. Though van der Poel was quickest to recover, his injured hand soon became a problem. “There was a bike in front of me, and I couldn’t go around it, so I crashed,” he said later. “It’s mainly my hand that hurts a bit. I also had a bike from Lidl-Trek come into me.”
In the meantime, Pogačar was joined on the Cipressa (5.6 km @ 4.1%, with a maximum of 9%) by McNulty, who led him to the front of the peloton and then accelerated. With 24.5 km left to ride, del Toro took up the attack until Pogačar took off on the steepest part of the climb. Only Pidcock and van der Poel were able to stay with him, while van Aert was still chasing the peloton.
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Tadej, Tom, Wout, and Mathieu
As the three rode together, it looked at first as if it would come down to a three-rider sprint. But van der Poel seemed to be struggling. Eventually, he was dropped on the final climb of the race, the Poggio (3.7 km @ 3.7%, with 8% maximum gradient), and finished eighth, with the main chase group.
“The team did a very good job of bringing me back, and I was still able to hang on over the Cipressa, but I could already feel it wasn’t great anymore,” he said after the race. “I rode up at my own pace and saw Tadej, who had also been involved in that crash, come back past me. At the moment when it mattered, I was still there. But I didn’t feel super… But I had already said on the radio that I couldn’t hold my handlebars properly. I still tried, but it just didn’t really work. I couldn’t accelerate the way I wanted anymore, even though I could still produce the watts. I’m quite disappointed.”
Pidcock and Pogačar raced on, working well together to stay ahead of the peloton, which van Aert was finally able to join, thanks to Jorgenson. As the leading duo approached the final kilometer, the peloton was about 12 seconds behind and closing. Suddenly, 1.2 km from the finish, a rider in yellow surged out of the bunch. It was van Aert, and he was motoring.
“I was unlucky because I didn’t get a new bike immediately after the crash,” the Belgian said. “The guys rode in front of me and around me, so I had to go for the best possible result. I spent the whole finale chasing the race and only realised late on that I was riding for the podium.”
According to Visma’s Head of Racing, Grischa Niermann, for once, the team’s misfortune was transformed into a stroke of luck when Jorgenson had to stop to also change his bike and therefore was on hand to help van Aert get back to the peloton. “At one point, they were a minute down,” Niermann said. “When Matteo Jorgenson also had to change bikes, they came together and were then able to start the Cipressa side by side. But they were still a long way behind the peloton.”
“Matteo was super strong, right on the limit,” said van Aert. The two of them powered up the climb and set the third-fastest ascent time as a duo, according to Strava.
“At that point, we had lost the overview, because they were no longer on screen,” Niermann said. “But we told everyone to wait, except Christophe [Laporte] and Victor [Campenaerts], in case they could still do something after the Cipressa. In the end, that worked out very well because Victor brought him back.”
“If the moment came, the plan was to go for it,” van Aert said on the team’s website. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t for the win. But after the crash and my bike change, this was the best possible outcome. I’m very happy with my podium finish.”
The sprint duel
Pogačar began his sprint about 175 meters from the line, as van Aert was closing. Pidcock went around him and appeared to be gaining, but the finish line came about 10 meters too soon, and he was beaten by half a wheel. Van Aert completed the podium, crossing 4 seconds adrift – just ahead of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who was completing his first race of the year after breaking his wrist in his first start of the year.
This edition of the Milano–San Remo was dramatic and thrilling, with heroic riding by some of the best cyclists in the world. Of course, the world champion proved again why he is considered the best of all time, but also that even the best in the world need their team to win. Bravo to Pogačar and to UAE Team Emirates –XRG for a magnificent individual and collective triumph.
Bravo as well to Pidcock, who proved that he can ride with the best rider of all time. He might even have won if he had kicked off his sprint just a few seconds earlier. “To be honest, I need a bit of time to reflect,” the 26-year-old Briton told TNT Sports. “Right now, I’m very disappointed because it hurts when you come so close. If Tadej had gone solo and I’d finished second on my own, I’d probably be sitting here happy. But this was 4 centimeters, and that hurts a lot. I was so close to a Monument, but what I did was incredible, and I’m proud of that.”
And let’s not forget van Aert, who lost the most time in the crash and spent so much time chasing the peloton. That he could still sprint for the podium at the end speaks volumes about his will and his form – and also speaks to the will and strength of the team. Wout is back and so is Visma–Lease a Bike.
Results 2026 Men’s Milano–San Remo
- Tadej Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates–XRG 6:35:49
2. Tom Pidcock, Pinarello–Q36.5 Pro Cycling “
3. Wout Van Aert, Visma–Lease a Bike +0:04
4. Mads Pedersen, Lidl-Trek “
5. Corbin Strong, NSN Cycling “
6. Andrea Vendrame, Jayco AlUla “
7. Jasper Stuyven, Soudal Quick-Step “
8. Mathieu van der Poel, Alpecin–Premier Tech “
9. Matteo Trentin, Tudor Pro Cycling “
10. Edoardo Zambanini, Bahrain-Victorious “
