‘If I come back to San Remo it will only be to eat focaccia’ – Tadej Pogačar hints he may never return after finally winning Milan-San Remo
Tadej Pogačar hinted he may never return to Milan-San Remo after finally winning the Italian monument at the sixth attempt, a breathtaking race that included a crash, a chase and attack on the Cipressa and then a close sprint victory against Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5).
Milan-San Remo was starting to weigh on Pogačar’s shoulders as his podium places and defeats mounted up. It seemed out of reach even for his greatness, the route and his rivals, to be able to respond and sit on his attacks and then beat him in the sprint finish.
Now that weight of expectation has gone, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider shook it off, just as he dispatched so many rivals on the Cipressa and then Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) on the Poggio. Pogačar can now smile as he thinks about Milan-San Remo and enjoy a slice of well-deserved Italian focaccia.
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“It’s quite a relief to finally win it. It’s been many years of training around here and I will miss it,” Pogačar said in the post-race press conference.
Tom Pidcock had revealed after the podium ceremony that Pogačar had told him that he may now never return to Milan-San Remo. Pogačar confirmed as much, joking to Cyclingnews when we asked him as he left the press conference.
Pogačar somehow survived and won one of the most unexpected and unpredictable editions of Milan-San Remo. There have been many in the 117 editions of La Classicissima but this was one for the ages.
In a moment of distraction in the peloton, Pogačar crashed close to the start of the Cipressa climb where he was expected to attack.
He went down hard on his left side, suffering road rash and scuffing his white world champion’s skinsuit. Suddenly he seemed vulnerable and perhaps out of contention, admitting he immediately thought he would have to climb into a team car or ride into San Remo defeated.
Like a cat with nine lives, Pogačar somehow avoided injury. A blast of adrenaline helped him chase back to the peloton and his teammates led him to the front of the peloton in time to launch his planned Cipressa attack.
“The team gave me so much hope also via the radio. I could not give up,” he said, praising the hard work of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates.
Pidcock and Van der Poel were the only riders able to stay in Pogačar’s slipstream when he attacked on the Cipressa. They eventually worked with him on the coast road, with only Pidcock able to stay with Pogačar over the Poggio.
Pogačar had to give his all to fight the pain and beat Pidcock in the Via Roma sprint, agreeing it was one of his greatest performances of his already incredible career.
“I think it’s definitely one of the biggest wins in my career,” he confirmed. “I need to sleep it off a little bit. I don’t know much about what happened in the final. I just was all out.
“To sprint against Tom head to head was also crazy. I was doubtful until the line. Even after the line, I didn’t know if I won, so I still need a moment to realise that we won Milan-San Remo.”
Pogačar has now won four of cycling Monument Classics. Only Paris-Roubaix remains and he surely has a chance to win a historic Classics triplette of Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the next three weeks, with the Ardennes to follow.
“I’m just so happy now that I’ve won San Remo that whatever comes next is fine, I will not beat my head or anything,” Pogačar said, rightly wanting to savour the moment.
“I’ll just try to recover from today and see how the Belgium races will go. Of course the shape is good, and I will go to Flanders and Roubaix with a strong team. And we go for the win in both races. I’m looking forward to Flanders and Roubaix now.”
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