Tadej Pogačar finally ticked off ‘La Primavera’ after going on the attack on the Cipressa, and out-sprinting Tom Pidcock on the line – all after crashing 33 km from the finish.
Remember where you were on March 21, 2026.
The first Monument of the year unfurled over almost 300 km between Milan and San Remo, with world champion Tadej Pogačar more determined than ever to finally crack one of the few races missing from his lengthy palmarès. That determination was never more evident than after the world champion crashed 33 km from the finish, about 6 km from the foot of the Cipressa.
Suddenly the UAE Team Emirates plan looked to be in tatters, just like Pogačar’s white skinsuit, but he and his loyal lieutenants defiantly raced back into contention and straight to the front of the race, now on the lower slopes of the Cipressa. By the top of the crucial climb, Pogačar had made his move, going clear with only Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock for company. The gap over the charging bunch was down to just a handful of seconds at the foot of the Poggio, but as the road kicked up, Pogačar was back in his element, and little more than 500 metres into the climb, Van der Poel was done.
Pidcock and Pogačar remained inseparable over the top of the Poggio, down the descent and onto the last short flat stretch to the line. The world champion found himself leading out as the pair couldn’t resist a nervous glance behind them – Wout van Aert now just ahead of the bunch less than 15 seconds back. Pidcock opened up first, but Pogačar was irrepressible, digging deeper into the reserves than he’s familiar with to sprint for the line, and just edge out the Brit by half a wheel.
[race_result id=4 stage_id=0 count=10 gc=0 year=2026]
How it happenedMilan-San Remo got underway (from Pavia) promptly on Saturday morning, 298 km of racing ahead of the peloton, the neutral start tipping the ride over 300 km.There was a little drama early on as an early iteration of the breakaway took a wrong turn, but the race soon settled into its prescribed formula with a group of nine riders up the road and Silvan Dillier towing the bunch for Alpecin-Premier Tech.
The day’s breakaway comprising Martin Marcellusi, Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Lorenzo Milesi, Manlio Moro (Movistar), Andrea Peron, David Lozano (Novo Nordisk), Alexy Faure Prost (Picnic PostNL), and the Polti-VisitMalta pair of Dario Igor Belletta and Mirci Maestri in their team’s special-edition kit throwing it back to the old Polti team livery.
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