Tadej Pogacar pips Tom Pidcock to win Milan-San Remo for the first time

SAN REMO – Tadej Pogacar claimed another landmark victory by edging a thrilling Milan-San Remo on March 21, finally adding a fourth of road cycling’s five Monument races to his collection.

The 27-year-old pipped Britain’s Tom Pidcock in an enthralling two-man sprint climax, even after his race strategy was blown to bits by a crash a few kilometres before the key Cipressa climb, the penultimate ascent of a gruelling 298km race from Pavia.

UAE Team Emirates rider Pogacar crossed the line on Via Roma in San Remo, with Pidcock right on his wheel after a brilliant battle between the pair from the final Poggio di San Remo climb. Belgian Wout van Aert came in third.

The Slovenian, who won Strade Bianche earlier in March, became the first man since Giuseppe Saronni in 1983 to win Milan-San Remo as world champion.

“When I crashed, for a second I thought it’s all over, because crashing just before the most important part of the race is not ideal, but luckily, I was quickly back on the bike and with not too much damage to me,” said Pogacar.

“Tom is a really fast guy, we all know this. He’s punchy, he’s fast and he looks really in shape, so I was a bit afraid when he let me go first (in the final sprint).

“I was waiting... but I also know that I cannot wait too long because he has a better kick than me probably... in the end, it was really close.”

Paris-Roubaix is the only Monument the four-time Tour de France champion is yet to win, with its next edition in April.

Pogacar finished second in the 2025 race – nicknamed the “Hell of the North” – and on the evidence of March 21, he could yet join Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy and Roger de Vlaeminck in winning all five Monuments.

Riding with his outfit ripped and a big graze down his left shin from his crash, he got back into the main group but the fall ruined his predicted strategy of attacking at the bottom of the Cipressa climb, over 30km from the finish.

The Slovenian’s teammate Isaac del Toro pushed ahead before launching him into an attack, with 2025 winner Mathieu van der Poel and Pidcock sticking on his wheel. The trio established a small lead of around 30 seconds over a powerful chasing group.

That gap was cut to nine seconds by the time Pogacar attacked again on the Poggio and dropped the Dutchman, with the 26-year-old Briton hanging on.

He stayed with Pogacar until the finish line, where the Slovenian launched his final, and successful, attempt to claim one of his stated objectives for what promises to be another huge season.

“I was told it (the winning margin) was four centimetres and that hurts quite a lot, that it was so close,” said Pidcock after just missing out on his biggest victory days after winning Milan-Turin.

“Obviously I lost to Tadej, he’s one of the best cyclists ever so I can’t be disappointed, but I can’t help it.

“I need to look at it from a wider perspective because I think what I did was quite amazing. I’m quite proud.”

Lotte Kopecky of Belgium won a women’s race marred by a horrible crash on the descent from the Cipressa, a multi-bike pile-up which took out former Tour winner Kasia Niewiadoma and Kimberley le Court.

The worst victim was Italian rider Debora Silvestri, who ran into fallen riders ahead of her, flew over the roadside barrier and thumped into the tarmac of a ramp several feet below, where she lay unconscious.

“After being treated by the race’s medical staff and then by emergency services, Debora Silvestri is currently in stable condition,” her team Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi said.

The 27-year-old tried to look on the bright side as she detailed her injuries on Instagram.

“I feel pretty good,” she wrote. “Five broken ribs and a microfracture in my shoulder. It could have been worse.”

Polish rider Niewiadoma “was examined by our team doctor and has several cuts and bruises”, her Canyon-SRAM team said.

Mauritian rider le Court came to Niewiadoma’s aid, thus ending her own race. AFP