Tadej Pogacar claimed another landmark victory by edging Saturday’s thrilling Milan-San Remo, finally adding a fourth of road cycling’s five “Monument” races to his collection.
Pogacar pipped 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 298 kilometre race from Pavia.
UAE 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, with Wout Van Aert rounding off the podium.
The 27-year-old Slovenian, who won Strade Bianche earlier this month, 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 four-time Tour De France champion Pogacar is yet to win, with this year’s edition of the “Hell of the North” coming up next month.
Pogacar finished second in Paris-Roubaix last year and on Saturday’s evidence 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, Pogacar 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.
Pogacar’s teammate Isaac del Toro pushed ahead before launching the Slovenian into an attack, with last year’s 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 Van der Poel, with Pidcock hanging on.
Pidcock 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 ever 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 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 de France winner Kasia Niewiadoma and Kimberley Le Court.
The worst victim was Italian rider Debora Silvestri who flew over the roadside barrier and thumped into the tarmac of a ramp several feet below, where she lay unconscious.
Silvestri’s team Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi confirmed she was awake and in hospital, not long after track and one-day road cycling specialist Kopecky surged to victory in the final metres on via Roma.
Kopecky, a two-time world champion, held off Noemi Ruegg to claim her second win of the season.
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