Tadej Pogačar launches his sprint with 200m to go. Tom Pidcock looks to the right but there’s no room and he moves to the left and almost gets on terms but he’s half a length short as they throw their bikes to the line. After 289km there’s half a wheel it in.
The early breakaway formed quickly, only for the lead vehicles to go off-course, taking the riders into parked traffic. Anecdotal, yes but a copycat move was allowed to go clear moments later which was notable because it showed how it suited everyone.
Like previous editions this was another “Noah’s Ark breakaway” with team mates going in two by two: two each from Movistar, Bardiani, Novo Nordisk and Polti-Malta, plus a lonely Picnic-PostNL rider in Alexey Faure-Prost.
Behind Orluis Aular of Movistar and UAE’s Jan Christen crashed after about 30km, the latter breaking his collarbone. Given UAE were without Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narvaez because of injury did losing a key rider early give Pogačar thoughts it might not be his day? The gods were out to test him already.
Alpecin-PremierTech’s Silvan Dillier led the chase with 285km to go and the Swiss Stakhanovite was seemingly on the front for the next 200km. Perhaps he looked back one or twice but there were no flicking elbows or other body language despite other teams getting a free ride. His work was solid but he was one against nine riders. The escapees began to gain time and they doubled their lead from three minutes to six on the Via Aurelia coastal road. UAE’s Domen Novak took over with just over 80km left.
Soon teams were riding in train formation to hold their leaders in position. Ineos had a collective crash but Filippo Ganna just avoided the trouble before the Capo Mele.
With the capes cleared, the breakaway was down to four as they passed the fountain in Imperia. Moments later on the way out of Oneglia Pogačar crashed. We’ll put the blame and inquisition aside as nobody seemed to make a grave fault. Pogačar was first to go down, sliding across the road and taking out others like a scythe through grass.
Normally a fall in Sanremo means game over. However if this was a disaster it wasn’t a catastrophe. Pogačar had the good fortune not to be injured and his bike was still rideable, unlike Wout van Aert’s machine. Up in seconds he had team mates ready to lead the chase. Plus if his clothing was ripped leaving his white shorts halfway to a sumo mawashi when viewed from the left he retained enough dignity to continue as the tail of the peloton rode away.
Van der Poel was also caught in the crash but lost less time and was in the first chase group. Pogačar was in the next group behind with Domen Nowak, Felix Großschartner and Florian Vermeersch burning themselves up to chase back through the convoy.
The breakaway was caught at the foot of the Cipressa just as Pogačar made it to the back. Back but a long way back, the TV caption had him at 17 seconds. There was no time to lose and Brandon McNulty led him through the group, the pair passing rivals like they were hobbyists in the Pogi Challenge. In just a kilometre they made it to the front. Suddenly the plan was back on. McNulty used up his last reserves and soon Isaac Del Toro appeared and accelerated hard to stretch out the group.
Pogačar attacked. Pidcock was right on his wheel. One wheel behind Filippo Ganna was in trouble, his head dipping and elbows jutting out like he was pushing an overloaded wheelbarrow as Van der Poel came around him. Mads Pedersen stomped on the pedals to stay in contact but blew in seconds.
In the space of 25 pedal strokes Pogačar was clear with Pidcock and Van der Poel. The rest were left repaying their oxygen debts and by Cipressa church tower the chasers were 25 seconds down.
There were strange moments of calm now. The Cipressa attack as theory was working in practice again and the trio began to collaborate, but the alliance was tentative. The tension rose as Lidl-Trek had numbers and Visma-LAB’s Victor Campenaerts joined in the pursuit and gap fell. The trio started to look back, often the prelude to surrender. The half minute cushion was reduced to a threadbare eight seconds at the foot of the Poggio.
The gap closed further. Excuse the low-fi graphics above but inside the red circle you can just see a speck of white casting shadow on the wall: Pogačar. In the blue circle is the front of the bunch and there’s about six seconds in it here, even less than the TV graphic suggests.
Pogačar rose up and accelerated. Pidcock followed but Van der Poel stayed seated and was now beaten. For a brief moment at least six motos were within 50 metres of the two leaders which helped, but behind who was left to chase? At the top of the Poggio the pair had 15 seconds on the 40 or so peloton with Van der Poel still in between. By the foot of the descent the two had 20 seconds. Pogačar was doing most of the work, Pidcock seemingly all in for the win rather than guaranteeing second place by sharing the work.
Andrea Bagioli did a final pull in the streets of Sanremo for the peloton which helped catch Van der Poel. By now there was almost nobody left to chase. Sensing this Wout van Aert attacked with 1.5km to go and started to close in.
Pidcock flicked his elbow before the flamme rouge and a Pogačar came through to ensure they stayed away and Pidcock sat on. Van Aert was closing in and each time Pogačar glanced back he seemed to check the incoming Belgian more than Pidcock on his wheel.
With 200m to go Pogačar looked over his left shoulder one last time then launched his sprint. Pidcock seemed to point his front wheel right but there was little room by the barriers. He began to get on terms with Pogačar with 50m to go but his front wheel was weaving in a ragged sprint while Pogačar was powering straight and as both lunged it was Pogačar who won by half a wheel.
The Verdict
This time the action came even earlier than the Cipressa with Pogačar’s crash and chase. Milan-Sanremo was this blog’s first pick among the highlights of last season and 2026 topped it, a thriller with added layers of tension and drama.
Milan-Sanremo is famous for the trance-like finish. It may never reach boiling point from the start like a golden Tour stage could, nor even with 100km to go like a vintage Paris-Roubaix. But the intensity of the final 35km was as good as it gets because so much was happening, much of it with the most slender of margins.
Pogačar as the strongest rider on the day and winning may not sound like news. This was different, a frenetic finale. Replay the final kilometre in a simulation and Pidcock could have won and his distant stare on the podium seemed to suggest he knew it. This gave suspense all the way to the line, especially as Pidcock was not sharing the work 50-50 and so might have something left. The 30 second advantage on the Cipressa was reduced to less than ten seconds by the Poggio and Van Aert was just four seconds behind by the finish.
Pogačar’s crash defined the day. Without it maybe he could have gone solo over the Cipressa? However strong that would have been too easy. Philippe Brunel wrote for L’Equipe for 40 years, becoming the lead cycling writer. Having seen Merckx, Hinault et al he often honed his definition of a champion and it someone who can win against the odds, able to turn an unfavourable situation to their advantage and win from it.
Pogačar’s crash wasn’t ruinous in a race where the smallest mishaps and hesitations often define the outcome but his chances did look cooked. Is it his greatest win? That’s subjective, the Zürich Worlds of 2024 was audacious for attacking with 100km to go; he monopolised the 2024 Tour de France; a Liege-Bastogne-Liege win was dedicated to the memorial of Urska Zigart’s mother. Sanremo seemed to mean plenty and despite 110 career wins with five grand tours and now an 11th Monument for once he looked stunned and even tearful.
Many a rider living on the Côte d’Azur has been lured to the Poggio hundreds of times, condemned to climb it like Sisyphus while their dreams up its slopes. Most – think of Peter Sagan, Caleb Ewan or Michael Matthews – try and never win. This is a deliverance for Pogačar who no longer has to go back; even if he was that vindictive there’s no realistic way to overhaul Merckx’s seven wins. This brings a touch of melancholy here for who else is willing to plunge the detonator on the Cipressa next year?
Pro cycling has the habit of asking what a rider can do next. Win, and usually before the finish arch has been dismantled, the triumph is banked and questions tun to “what can you do next?”. A fifth Tour de France awaits and one day there’s the Vuelta and Olympics to collect, goals that no matter how special feel expected. The only question left is whether he can really win Paris-Roubaix?
A fantastic piece on a fantastic race. Thanks, as always, for your insights.
On Pogacar’s future participation, I don’t think you should ever take anything a rider says in the hours after a race at face value, they still have adrenaline coursing through their veins and, in the cold light of day, may regret what they said. However, I hope Pogacar does ride this race in the future as his very presence makes for exciting racing and he has rewritten the playbook on how you win in Sanremo. Received wisdom a few years ago was that attacking on the Cipressa was a fool’s errand, now it is the blueprint for how the non-sprinters can win.
It’s an interesting thing, that for Pogacar’s Cipressa move to work he needs others to come with him – he was only 4 seconds ahead of the bunch with Pidcock & VdP helping him. If he’d been on his own, he’d have no doubt been caught before the line and likely outsprinted.
There’ll always be other riders, like Pidcock, who have a better chance in a 2up sprint against Pogacar than in a reduced bunch sprint against WvA, Pedersen, Matthews etc. But if Pogacar isn’t there to initiate things, will others be so confident on the Cipressa in the future? And if initiated by someone, might the rest of the peloton feel confident that any solo rider not named Pogacar will be easily caught? If Pogacar doesn’t ride MSR again, I can foresee the Poggio returning to be the deciding point in the race…
Reportedly, he found a funny way to say it “I’ll only be back for a focaccia breakfast”, so apparently Bonifazio didn’t only help with meticulous reconnaissance of climbs and even more so descents (his is still one of the most memorable ever seen in a race), but he also granted some true connoisseur local ways… you won’t have focaccia for breakfast anywhere in Italy but in Liguria, where it’s typical to have some with your morning coffee. Good job Bonifazio!
Ah, thanks for the background with Bonifazio. I vividly remember that descent which made me a fan, and then his subsequent rescue of a kitten on one of his training rides only increased my appreciation of him. I LOVE focaccia for breakfast. I think Liguria must be my spiritual culinary home (I’ve learned that from watching Pasta Grannies on YouTube). But I have to say, the first time I ever had focaccia for breakfast was at a B&B outside of Radda about 20 years ago, so I am surprised you say it’s not done in Italy outside of Liguria. Living in Ticino, I just buy it at the bakery in the evening and store it carefully so it’s still lovely and moist for breakfast.
Local specific tradition will happen, yet nowhere but in Liguria any focaccia variant comes even close to the cappuccino-brioche standard (so boring!).
I think he might go back too, if only because what else is he going to be doing in March? It doesn’t demand that specific a preparation and he doesn’t have to train the climbs and descents as much now he’s won it.
Thank you INRNG. A brilliant report as usual.
My money is on Pogacar winning Paris – Roubaix, against all the odds.
I really hope he doesn’t, but unlike Pogačar’s other races this year, I’m determined to find a way to watch P-R.
VPN. SBS Australia. I hope this helps
We’ll see the odds. Presumably Van der Poel’s injuries are light but Pogačar has a good chance now.
With Pogacar a year wiser, and van der Poel and van Aert a year older, I’d suggest Pogacar is now the equal if not clear favourite for Roubaix. His reconnaissance for the secteurs seems at least as diligent and comprehensive as that for MSR.
And, at the risk of being as repetitive as a Pogacar win at Strade or il Lombardia, sincere thanks to Inrng for consistently great pre- and post-race coverage of these races.
WvA seems a legitimate dark horse for the classics this year. Maybe.
Seems so but the proverbial “how to win?” question when he’s up against Van der Poel and Pogačar in Flanders and Roubaix? There’s an idea that if he keeps trying then one day things might go his way as the others metaphorically fall by the way but there’s also Pedersen and more to contend with. Makes it interesting and his team will have more options.
Pedersen 4th place after his injury hasn’t been commented on quite enough… logical, as there was so much more to say, and yet, how impressive!
Yes, very impressive and he has 2 more weeks to sharpen! It’s rare you can say 5 riders rode great, Tadej, Piddcock, Wout, Mads and VDP. Then add McNulty, those pulling between Cipressa and Pogio. Really great stuff!
Watching Pogacar’s career is becoming the greatest privilege of my life.
I’m in the camp of unless something crazy happens with Roubaix or the upcoming Seixas rivalry this will be his greatest win – to remake an entire race that had stuck to a fairly predictable formula for decades then crash, come back, attack, attack again, then win a sprint is out of this world – even more so at a race like MSR.
MVDPs Amstel win is the only performance I can remember being this impressed by outside of Pogacar’s own.
For all the Merckx comparisons something I haven’t heard said much is we’re actually lucky Merckx existed previously because it allows us to understand the greatness we’re witnessing and pay attention more than if it were the first time? Televised races help also (!) as does the gap between this rider type, if Hinault was the last, to really focus in on this possibly being a once in a-multiple-generations (even lifetime!) chance to see exploits at this level.
I just wish more could appreciate what we’re seeing!
It’s funny also – I loved watching Boonen, Cancellara, Museeuw and so many others, who were all excellent riders, but despite all the nicknames (Spartacus in particular!) none, even in their favoured races, were able to reconfigure entire parcours and even the sport around them.
The big question I’d love answered is; if those riders had the nutrition available to them that this generation do, whether we’d have seen a similar jump for them that we’ve seen in the post Covid era? (Even though both Pog and MVDP were showing promise already then?). It feels like if cycling brought the world the epo and blood doping eras, the high carb era is maybe something less dangerous we should all be taking into our daily lives!
So on that note, I’m gonna head off to freeze my blood, inhale a fistful of pills and ingest as many carbs as my gut can handle! SPARTACUS HERE I COME!
Dave…
Should we understand you are finally dispensing with the stolen bottles of wine you usually stuff into the back pockets of your cycling jersey?
A tragedy if so…
Do you really feel that Pogacar’s win in Milan–San Remo was his greatest win in a one-day race? For me, winning the world road race in Zurich edges it. He had the triple crown on the line, and the sheer unexpected audacity of attacking 100km from the finish was something else (and felt like suicide at the time). But both were incredible.
Bike racing doesn’t really get any better than yesterday!
The only thing that could have made it better in my mind, is if Pidcock had won – not only because I’m a fan, but also because there’s something very compelling in watching Pogacar – a rider who can attack early and solo to the line in almost any race under the sun – struggle to find the formula to winning MSR, but to keep trying year after year. Whether he races it again or not, it won’t feel quite the same I don’t think.
Much to say, but a short note to start with: many journos, especially Italian ones, highlighted – as inrng above – that Eddy got seven. Indeed, but among so many other obvious differences, I’d underline that Sanremo was probably to Merckx what Lombardia is for Pogi. His perfect race, the one he can win under so many circumstances and in many different ways, akin to some of their key characteristics. Merckx will probably still sit above Pogi even counting Monument Classics only once the latter’s career will be over, but it’s worth noting that Eddy won “only” 2 Lombardia out of 9 he started and 2 Ronde out of 12. Both races mattered a lot to him be it for sponsor or national reasons. It’s quite clear to me that these should be the most proper terms of comparison for Pogi’s Sanremo or PR, whether or not he stops at one for the former – or ever wins the latter. Which is quite logical just thinking about the most obvious physical differences between the two (besides, of course, taking into account that Monuments also changed through time).
And RVV is probably for Pogi what PR was to Eddy… (but I’m not sure he’ll get his 3rd this year, albeit it should be nearly authomatic from a purely performance POV – yet there’s much more coming into play in a one-day cycling race…).
PD As a sidenote, Sanremo averaged *for the last 3 hours* over 1.2M spectators in Italy on the tv broadcast of Rai 2 only. Call it niche! Sadly, Flanders Classics decided that only the most motivated hardcore fans might be interested in the second episode of the Pogi & Monuments series. Good for them? Surely not as much for the sport.
That’s a surprisingly low audience. It does come after weekends of Olympics and sports saturation on RAI… but still.
No no, comparatively it’s actually rather high, as one-day racing struggles to top the bills in Italy even compared to other cycling events. I think I’ve read (didn’t check) that it was the 3rd best result this decade, slightly behind Nibali (practically on par, very little difference – and more share for this edition!) whereas it was last year with Ganna in the mix till the very finale to get a better result at 1.4M.
To fully understand the results, you must take into account that the channel (Raidue) on a Saturday afternoon has been looming for long at shares as low as 2% (Milano-Sanremo got 11%) and often struggles to surpass the 500-600K mark, cycling easily doubling that.
It would take long to analyse…:
– why Classics rarely are a TV cycling hit in many countries when compared with the corresponding GTs, normally the most successful ones sitting at some 60% of the average GT audience (still true even in France for PR, which is the most easily loved by generalist public both there and around the world). Belgium is an obvious exception, but all the other big markets stick to this thumb rule. That said, as shown above they’re still a hugely winning TV product for a generalistic afternoon.
Worth noting that the mediocre results of Classics on TV is greatly at odds with some theory of cycling working better with simpler rules, a clearer format, a fixed stable calendar, great clashes, impredictable results etc. as Classics already tick so many of those boxes, and yet…
– why cycling didn’t gain much being moved from Rai3 (left-wing channel) to the right-wing Rai2, but the latter TV channel instead had a lot to gain getting cycling away from its historical channel.
– why hardcore cycling fans in Italy are moderately nationalistic (or not at all) but generalist fans are hugely so.
Hey Gabriele,
Do they count replays streamed in your statistics for Rai?
Living in north america I gennerally will stream replays on either Peacock or HBO Max! I assume that even though I don’t watch the race race live im used in the analysis for networks?
Data above is strictly «live only», a watching approach which is declining as such across many kinds of tv shows (check the *other* Sanremo or football for hugely popular benchmarks which may undergo a downward trend all the same). It partly explains why Italian data are considered «stable» when in the range of -1% to -3%. Once even live streaming on the official website was excluded, now it’s included – while it’s live.
I suspect delayed watching is increasingly popular, but it’s hard to say. Data are offered only by organisers or private broadcasters as an aggregate normally after several months when presenting the new edition to sponsors whom they want to sell advertising spaces to. Such figures are always very high and growing, but unfortunately the lack of a common conceptual framework for measurement make then ultimately unreliable.
My personal experience is I’m watching just a handful of races live, but I’m actually watching a lot, probably more than in the past, thanks to ex-post streaming, which works much better than, say, 7-8 years ago. Same happens to everybody else in my circle of friends, who became more interested as we fit into the profile of older MAMILs but also as we recur increasingly to the option of watching in the evening (or during ahem coffe breaks in working hours), managing video speed, jumping back and forth etc. works.
Personal experience has little to no value for general social analysis (e.g. in the past I tended to think much more people watched Eurosport than they actually did because of my poorly representative social context), yet I believe that from a qualitative POV it can be interesting to think how the concept of «live sport event» has changed ahem philosophically, so to say, allowing more easily delayed watching as a valid substitute. Also note the growing insistence on «no spoilers please!». A couple of decades back, live or not was more of a binary option, the latter often assuming you’d watch even knowing the results.
A nice comment about watching “on catch-up”. This is surely how most people who work can watch the races. This is also what I mainly do, and it is always a struggle to ensure I don’t know the result before I have caught up.
Ok, noted and was more used to a bigger audience / share.
I assume you’re mainly France-based. The French cycling viewing trend is hugely different from «the rest of the (cycling) world». My personal opinion is that (albeit hard to explain in terms of direct cause-effect) many little details show how the Lappartient presidency cared for or even «cuddled» the national dimension of the sport (as others before him…). Maybe some love to share for Benelux, too.
Cycling, as so many other aspects of life in Europe (and beyond?), is in a phase of revamped national focus which is partly a positive reaction to the excess of other phenomena, but which is now far beyond that point, and currently more of an uncontrolled inflammatory reaction of the social body bringing more hindering than healing or helping.
I, for one, believe that it’s time that cycling enjoys more of a general (not forcedly «global») and organic vision.
PD I believe that most of us will understand that France and Emirates can belong to the very same big picture… Football fans at least will easily get it, I’d say
It’s more the French numbers are shared more widely, ASO puts them out in press releases, on their social media etc.
Separately no confirmation of the renewal of the RCS Warner/Eurosport deal but it seems to have happened or is just being extended for a year as normally these things happen with a press release.
I was under the impression that only three one-day races had a large audience: Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, and Paris–Roubaix. Given the numbers Gabriele reports for Milan–San Remo, I wonder how low the numbers are for Lombardia (and Strade Bianche). It could be an interesting comparison, if the numbers are available.
A lot of races have the bulk of their audience at home, then then the rest of the world is fraction of this. But this varies, eg the Tour has a big worldwide.
RCS has a deal for its races with Warner/Eurosport which means subscribers get to see these events outside of Italy but the audience figures are low. Other races that have wider deals that go on mainstream/public TV can get bigger ratings. The Worlds for example is available in a lot of countries for free.
The Ronde used to have mediocre figures, I think that in France free to air on a national public broadcaster they considered to be a success hitting just over 1M (less than this Sanremo in Italy, even if in France cycling figures should be normally higher, to start with because of a bigger general population).
In fact, in Italy under the same conditions it struggled to close in to 1M, often sitting around 800K. However, these are still decent numbers if you think that the Italian ones are now going to drop some 75-80% at least as it’s going to be pay only. As in Spain, where it never gathered a significant audience for this same reason.
In Belgium it’s obviously huge at some 1.37M (a little short from last Sanremo in Italy, but on a way smaller general population).
For this kind of races the bulk really depends a lot on two factor: nationality, and if it’s broadcast free to air.
Yet, Lombardia in Italy performs on par with Ronde, averaging a little over 800K (last decade), with editions able to achieve 1M or very close (Pogi 2021 best of the decade, then Nibali 2017).
Paris-Roubaix 2024 got 2M in France and … mere 400K in Italy, whereas the 2025 edition gor 2.5M in France and 1.1M in Italy.
Imagine that several working day sprinter stages of a GT easily achieve similar figures in a single reference country.
However, the Ronde is reported to gather some 750K spectators *live along the route*.
Yes, I understood the grand tours get good figures, even for midweek sprint figures (especially the Tour de France). The week-long stage races mostly have tiny audience figures. The Ronde, of course, up until c.1990, was “a Belgian thing”: extremely popular in Flanders, and mostly ignored elsewhere.
The Pogi effect at Paris–Roubaix is quite striking, given your figures. For all the talk amongst some regular watchers saying they are bored of him winning, he does an amazing job of generating a big audience.
Some commentator – not sure who – made the observation that Pogacar looks so normal. It’s true. No bulging muscles like Maertens or Spartacus, no pared-down mountain goat like Martinez, Vingegaard or even Bardet. He doesn’t even particularly look the part on a bike, yet he has it all, except maybe the bunch sprint he rarely needs.
That, and Pog’s phenomenal mid-career step up going into the 2024 season, is truly an outlier—probably the most “interesting” one in modern cycling.
Less debatable than that step-up at 26 (just check when athletes normally enter their prime, but that’s open to debate, as I said), Pogi’s physical build is actually one aspect making him “plausible” (relative to a generally powered-up athletical landscape of course).
My perspective was different: I recall saying to the friend with whom I was watching the race that of the last 3 into the finale, only MVdP looks like he’s had a square meal in the last week.
Its an interesting discussion. Both Van der Poel and Pogacar are quite broad I would say, almost like they can’t be any smaller or they wouldn’t be able to fit their lungs into their torso. Pogacar, as was the case with Merckx, is probably unusually ‘big’ for a GC rider and about the size you would expect for a classics rider. He doesn’t look out of place in Flanders or Roubaix. Pidcock looks about as you would expect for a professional cyclist really, i.e, weedy.
The thing that I have noticed with Pogacar, when they do a side on shot, is the way his stomach is pumping away like a bellows. He really is sucking in the oxygen!
I was thinking about ‘the moment the race was won’ earlier and I thought – it’s got to be a picture of the bike throw. I felt for Pidcock, but what a win from Pogačar!
Definitely had to feel for Pidcock. He played it almost perfectly, he was on Pog’s wheel. His only mistake was he chose the wrong side of Pog initially, then as Pog moved right Pidcock had to rethink for a moment and swing back around to Pog’s left before he could really pour everything into his sprint. He managed to get from (at least) a wheel behind to within half a wheel of victory in the very last.
Given Pidcock has a fairly decent sprint in him (bit of cyclocross explosivity – though he didn’t do CX this winter, from what I remember), the ‘what if’ of that little moment of switching sides will be rolling in his head.
I think he would have won if he’d picked the left.
It looked almost as if he started accelerating a moment before Pog, and then when Pog started his sprint he had to – like you say – correct himself and switch over to the left losing valuable momentum.
Good thing for Pog the line wasn’t another 10 meters.
One of the best articles I’ve read, thank you. high quality comments as well.
My thoughts on PR Is that Pog has an excellent chance to win.
Mauro said his numbers were better than last year, and although VP went faster than last year on the last two climbs, he still was left behind when he didn’t have the help of a 8 mph headwind on the Cipressa.
this podes well for Pog, especially after the trauma. Hincapie, who’s done this race 15 times, said people don’t realize how much a crash like takes out of you. RAI commentators agree that it not fall and he probably would have taken a minute on everyone
If we had a Euro for everyone who says “their numbers are better than last year”… well people say it a lot.
A crash can take a lot out but there’s often a two day lag because of the lost sleep, inflammation etc, so in the moment of a one day race as long as it’s superficial rather than trauma then it can be ok. Pogačar did talk of the adrenalin effect but in reality this is often a very short response and the boost can quickly turn into a negative as blood sugar is burned up etc.
I didn’t put in the piece as it was getting long but what if the crash played on his rivals too? If Pogačar was untouched and his shorts still looking like they’d come out of the packaging then would Pidcock have been even more minded to sit on at the risk of them being caught and with this saving that little extra? Too speculative but the sight of him coming back after the crash must have crushed other riders who thought they’d left him behind?
Mauro, Mauro…. It really gives me the creeps to see Gianetti beam proudly on TV after Pogs every win.
But Pog must now be the favorite to win P-R, and then really start to knock on Merckx’s door.
Can he win all five monuments this year? It ought to be ridiculous, but with Pogacar, we don’t laught out loud at the possibility.
It wasn’t a moment but the key part of the race was how quickly his team mates were able to get Pogacar back to the front of the race … 30 seconds in about 5 km.
What comes with a crash is shock so Pogacar’s presence of mind is considerable. Adrenaline gets mentioned all the time but I think it is mainly a pain killer.
@cadence_66. The joys of having a super team of super domestiques.
At the beginning of his career, Pogacar had a mediocre team. The superteam got built around him because of his talent.
RAI commentators might very well say that, but a Sporza commentator may very reply reply that if their grandmother had wheels she’d have been a bicycle…
By the same logic one could equally say if MvdP had not crashed he’d have stayed with Pogacar and Pidcock and won the sprint on Via Roma by three bike lengths. Again.
Osbk67 exactly. Good point. Mvdp was obviously slowed down from the chrash hurting his hand.
Not a good sign for Roubaix.
Even when crashing Pogi comes out on top, his worst opponent being hurt more than him. Lance Armstrong aura right there.
Tom Danielson made a good point, which is that the crash and subsequent chase for MvdP & Pogacar effectively turned the Cipressa into a 15min effort, rather than a 9min effort (or less, if you discount the false flat at the top). And that this change in the length of effort is what then sapped MvdP and favoured Pogacar. I think he’s got a point. So did the crash actually help Pogacar win?!
I thought MVDP was came back to the peloton too quickly, and was too desparate to get to the front, causing him to burn too much energy. Presumably he was worried that someone would launch and attack before he got there. Maybe he didn’t realise Pogacar was behind him and not in place to launch.
Good points above. Tv journos were also «long» (2-3 mins) confused about relative position of groups.
Duration of efforts is a key aspect of the Pogi MvdP duel. And one of Pogi’s strong point (to me, the most «outlier» compared to many supposed others) is his/his coaches ability to work on effort curves and shift them according to the racing objectives. Everybody is doing that or trying (Vingo commented on the subject last year) but Pogi succeeds in achieving the desired results more effectively than the rest and struggling less with trade-offs. This is indeed very peculiar.
The funny thing is that phrase became famous because of an Italian! (Ginno D’Acampo). 😉
After Pog crossed the line and realized he won it appeared as if a weight had been lifted from him. You could see the relief. Whether it was from getting the monkey off his back with this win or coming back from the crash to win and not have the pressure again it seemed palpable to me.
He commented having spent most of the race after the crash with close to no hope at all about victory, just pushing on while some encouragement came from specific events in an emotional rollercoaster of sort. After the crash, the positive impulse came from teammates when he was thinking of retiring «taking the bike lane». Then he told he believed it was over as the chase was reducing the gap faster than he expected. He began believing again thanks to a couple of impressive monstre turns by MvdP who according to Pogi went very deep and changed the trend of hyper-fast reduction of the gap, although the difference was still going down. Not sure if it was just a psychological impression, that’s how he told it. On the Poggio he had a boost of enthusiasm when MvdP was left back, but as he approached the sprint with Pidcock he felt his chances weren’t great, especially as he found himself on the front with WVA approaching. He sensed he launched too soon but once rockets were lit he only thought giving 110% and hope. He says he considers he won the sprint mainly out of luck rather than skill or power.
Not sure how much of the above is sincere, but was it even partly so, it depicts an experience quite different from most of Pogi’s racing, including in this same race. Some distant similarities with the Swiss Worlds, if anything.
Pogacar won the sprint because Pidcock spent 100m trying to go right and it wasn’t there. He switched left too late and ran out of road. He was gaining on Tadej at the line.
That takes nothing away from the pure cycling spectacle that those two displayed at the finish. What an outstanding race.
Never thought I’d read a reference to the Stakhanovites in a cycling blog! Well done, comrade. Well done. An extra beet in your bowl tonight!
It’s fully lexicalised by now:
https://inrng.com/2016/12/what-happened-to-the-10-neo-pros-for-2016/
https://inrng.com/2014/04/the-moment-the-race-was-won-paris-roubaix/
https://inrng.com/2016/08/who-will-win-the-vuelta/
And very common, e.g., in Italian language. Apparenlty more surprising for English speakers. I wonder about French, which is generally the main reference for inrng.
Wow–Francisco–so many references? I’d forgotten.
As an American (living in Canada) I can say that virtually no American or Canadian, unless they studied Marxism, Soviet history, etc., would know the term. I know it from my studies. No idea about the UK or other English-speaking lands.
The report on it being commonly known in Italy is interesting and makes me look forward even more to moving to Italy. I just learned that I am eligible for Italian citizenship and am starting to apply. I’ll ask my Italian teacher to teach me to say, “He’s got the shoulders of old Stakhanov!”
That said, I’d never have been a Stakhavonite. I preferred Marx’s son in law, who wrote The Right to be Lazy.
Don’t miss Marx’ letter to him when he knew about the engagement. A great figure and a harsh although coherent finale with some question marks regarding precisely his wife’s will.
Ah, in Italian most will understand and even commonly use the word “stacanovista” or “stakanovista”, but not everybody will know its etymology.
Although i am happy for Pog that he won. I am the only one feeling melancholic that he is one step closer to completing his career and calling it a day. As INRNG says, its only Roubaix left. Is this era almost done….
I’m really torn on Pog. On one hand, he’s without a doubt the GOAT and has brought a breath of fresh air and joy to cycling, but on the other, he’s unfortunately representing (and strengthening) the worst team in the sport.
I’ll miss him when he hangs up, but at the same time, I can’t help hoping Team UAE crumbles in the shadow of his legacy. Speaking of which, I have a hunch, without any solid proof, that he might wrap things up sooner rather than later.
Hmm, maybe that’s why he’s on such a tear this year? To have won “everything there is to win”?
Absolutely possible.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins Roubaix and then, as an autumn project, sets his sights on the Vuelta. Those are the main prizes out there. I agree with our host that he won’t go for a GT triple in one year—that would spark near-mutiny within UAE—so if he can check off those two, what’s left?
I think that whether Pogacar is the GOAT remains a matter of opinion, based on his palmares to date.
When I read that Merckx “only” won il Lombardia twice from nine starts I looked at who he had to beat and who beat him. In short, the list is full of greats and I think helps refute claims he had lesser opposition than Pogacar does now.
Pogacar’s career is of course far from over, despite throwaway comments at the end of races (MSR last weekend and TdF last year), and he stands to win a lot more.
Completely valid points:
The title of GOAT is, of course, subjective, and I completely recognize the case for Merckx.
The title of GOAT is wildly overused.
This has to been one of the best one-day races in years!
Those last 30 kilometers were some of the best promotion for cycling you could imagine, yet I’ve heard from colleagues across Europe that live was very difficult to locate. I only caught it after the race, and I’m curious—how many countries had it free-to-air? Italy, of course, and—if I understood correctly—also Belgium and Scandinavia, but not many other countries. What a shame!
#Anton
Definitely not in Scandinavia, as Eurosport holds the exclusive rights, meaning there was no free-to-air coverage anywhere in the region. Same for Strade Bianche. Fortunately, the rest of the major spring classics are shared, so we can catch them on (semi-)free-to-air TV-2 here in Denmark.
Ok..
When you say “shared,” does that mean, for example, that PR and Flanders are available on both TV2 and Eurosport in Denmark? Considering the—without meaning to disparage your country—relatively small audience size, it’s interesting, especially since in many other areas it’s hard to find even a single source. How does it work out?
ES usually has small audiences which work in their broader pay model. So it doesn’t take away much from the «main» broadcaster. And for them it works as their offer is quite comprehensive besides including different sports, so people who paid normally watch there out of sheer habit. In Italy ES users sometimes jumped to RAI for better specific coverage, but this doesn’t necessarily apply elsewhere, surely not in Spain.
I get the point, but it still feels strange to me that the RCS and, for example, ASO have such different models. The result is that, at a time when interest is generally declining, we’re seeing a further reduced audience for some of cycling’s absolute best races. I asked around at work, and among family and friends, and not one single person besides me watched MSR this year—arguably the best one-day race in a decade. RCS’ business model may work out, but for pro cycling in general? 🙁
@Anton Krause
It’s not RCS only, it’s also Flanders Classics.
Apparently, the idea behind it is “sell it as a mass event on the national scale, then sell it as a niche sport on the global market”.
Of course, I see some very specific risks in this approach: perhaps it’s not an issue in Belgium, but in Italy you may soon have no “mass” event anymore to sell to whomever, if cycling declines as a popular sport. You could find yourself with no event at all, indeed, in case local administrations don’t see any longer some advantage in funding and supporting an event which not only finds no love to share among local voters, but even makes them angry due to road closures.
And, of course, cycling gets hugely diluted as a “whole sport”, precisely in a moment when some athletes have the ability to perform across different disciplines or kind of races.
This latter aspect, at least, should be a worry for most stakeholders.
Speaking of RCS, to me the Giro worked better when it strived to be an increasingly relevant part of the sport again after the Armstrong era, and so progressively grew to the point where athletes (surely helped as well back then by some fee, as surely not as big as the ones paid today) even put at risk their TDF options to have a shot at the Giro or to the double. Now it’s like RCS is betting everything on having one very big name at the start, being able to pay unprecedented fees thanks to the money granted by the exclusivity of the ES deal. But it’s hard to see at the start more than one serious TDF podium potential candidate or recent achiever – and in case you do, the race may lose competitivity and become predictable. In fact, last edition ended up being a good one, but anyway the race IMHO “performed” better both in sporting terms and as a spectacle in the 10s, especially the second half of the decade. That’s also when the Spanish public TV or L’Equipe television bought the rights, with excellent results in the magnitude of millions viewers, by the way (L’Equipe made some of its historical audience records thanks to some Giro stages).
@gabriele
I agree with everything you’ve said.
I’d love to see how the different business models compare. While the current ones might work for each owner, they definitely don’t do much to support cycling overall.
Other sports have had similar choices, do you sell the TV rights to the highest bidder to generate revenue, or do you aim for the biggest audience / free-to-air which may not bring in cash up front but has value elsewhere because your event sponsors have more reach, you keep a bigger audience etc.
In cycling in Europe it varies from country to country but the Giro has to be free to air in Italy, the Tour in France etc which is why you have different deals at home and internationally.
With cycling for RCS on Eurosport it helps explain why they put things like watts on screen as these would me meaningless for the general public (they’re often missing context when we’re watching but that’s another story).
A small country, sure—but no less complex for it… 😉
We do have dual coverage (TV 2/Eurosport) of a wide range of races, including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders, the Tour de France, and more. However, as mentioned, RCS has awarded exclusive rights to the Italian one-day trio and the Giro d’Italia to Warner/Discovery—i.e. Eurosport. In Denmark, you can access Eurosport’s live coverage for a relatively modest fee (around 40 DKK / €5 per month, if I remember correctly) provided you already subscribe to Max. So compared to many other countries, we’re actually quite well served.
TV 2 reportedly tried to secure (some of) the Giro rights this year—they held them up to and including 2016—but were unsuccessful. So if we want to follow Vingegaard in Italy, we’ll have to pay for it.
That said, the outlook is a bit uncertain.
TV 2’s Tour viewing figures have dropped quite significantly—from an average of 500,000 viewers per stage in 2023 to 400,000 in 2024 and 365,000 in 2025. Much of this can be attributed to the Vingegaard effect and the broader shift from traditional broadcast TV to streaming, but even so, the 2025 numbers are relatively low compared to the pre-Vingegaard years. So far, this hasn’t led to changes in programming from either broadcaster, but there is an ongoing debate about broadcasting priorities that will likely affect TV 2 in its role as a state-owned channel.
Denmark’s other public broadcaster, DR, used to show considerably more cycling but now only covers a limited selection of races (along with track cycling). It wouldn’t be surprising to see TV 2 follow suit—either scaling back its coverage or moving more races behind its premium channels. Ultimately, much will depend on the prominence and performance of Danish riders.
Thx Thomas!
Interesting dymanics…
SBS in Australia has all the monuments on free to air
No free-to-air in Spain (palm face).
After seeing so many races in the past few years where Pogacar makes his big uphill move and literally nobody can keep his wheel, watching Pidcock able to match it and stick with him was the moment this became the best MSR I’ve ever seen. Had he faltered, and it became another Pogacar distancing everyone for a solo win it would not have been so thrilling. And WVA charging at the end was the icing on the cake.
It was on free public tv in Switzerland
i’ve been reading your blog for seventeen years and this is your finest work yet. thanks for all you do, because you’re the best to do it.
also, did anyone else catch carlos sainz congratulating pogacar at the finish line? twice even he made an appearance.
He was among the celebs handing over the trophies on the podium, as Cav.
Incredible race, incredible report! Feel very privileged on both counts. Watched the last 90 minutes with my partner. She loved it and is now a firm Pog fan (although hates del Toro!)
More from the press conference:
“A little bit, you risk your life on every training that you go here. No offence, but on Italian roads, sometimes the traffic is a little bit criminal”.
You had read it here first!
-___-
I am guessing you are referring to what Pogacar has said?
Yes, the above is reportedly an exact quote, and after WVA’s commentaries about Brianza when training for Lombardia, now another top rider underlines how different, (in the worst sense) it feels like to ride on Italian roads. Which was a subject I’ve often insisted on commenting here, hence the tongue-in-cheek final line.
Some Italian “minor” politicians succeded in establishing decent national public funding to promote smaller, local races as a means to promote territory and healthy habits (which probably determined Giro di Sardegna’s comeback and the new format of Settimana Coppi & Bartali).
Fine. Yet, I think that a more serious approach on road safety by the Italian institutions is urgently needed, but it looks like they’re not interested, especially in the Government: I’d even say, quite the other way around (tending to support car culture which has got a strong appeal on part of their electoral basis).
I think it’s also specific to the Aurelia coastal road for Pogačar, this road is busy as the main artery and so there’s a lot of traffic on it. He’s had to for training, eg after the Poggio it’s back through Sanremo and Ventimiglia to Monaco. But inland the roads are much calmer.
Lorenzo Finn said something similar the other day, I can’t find the quote to hand right now but it was along the lines of “risking my life every time I go on the Aurelia” as there’s lots of traffic. It’s also a twisting road where people overtake impatiently etc.
The coastal road looks quite narrow with blind corners. It really looks horrible to cycle along.
Of course backroads, which Italy has plenty of even compared to other European countries, are often nearly traffic-free, safe and scenic. But, as I showed back then when discussing the subject, Italy’s road accidents figures especially as far as cycling safety is concerned are shocking.
It’s possible to tackle the issue if political action is taken, as it happened in Spain or more recently in Poland – only, Italy’s got a collection of lost occasions and failed attempts. Alas.
It’s a real shame from a cyclo-tourism perspective too, as it would be relatively easy to ‘sell’ a loop along the coast from Sanremo then back over the Cipressa and Poggio, but not with that traffic
Nick, they’re trying to lean into the cycle tourism more. Sanremo has just had a monument to the race and the Cipressa especially has more signs and artwork dedicated to the race itself to try to play up this identity.
There is a great cycle path as well along the coastal old rail line and some of this is dedicated in tribute to the race. The 2015 Giro started with a TTT on this route. In short you can avoid a lot of the Aurelia.
Nick: your idea sounds great. The problem is that the area is densely populated, and the coastal road is pretty much the only road linking the towns and villages along the coast. Hence the problems with the traffic.
The narrow and hilly nature of the route means the road can not be widened and no other road can be built (there is the main highway too). They have built a cycle-track for much of the route (used by pedestrians too). I think there really is no real solution in this location.
That cyclepath is a great alternative. Some parts of Italy are actually investing much on this kind of infrastructures for middle to long range routes, which is just great – assuming appropriate maintenance is granted. As in this case, many are built on previously existing train tracks.
Even the back roads aren’t the best. My wife was hit head-on by a car that was occupying far too much of the road in on a back road in Italy. She was descending (she’s a good descender) but there was nowhere for her to go except off a cliff. A broken jaw and crushed orbital was the outcome. Could have been worse I suppose. But this isn’t unique to Italy, alas.
Another problem is that cars are much larger now than in the past. It means less room for other road users.
@John Very well spotted re: car dimensions esp. width, which is also implying many roadside parking are being re-designed to be wider, sometimes even sacrificing previously existing bike paths. But of course the daily effects go well beyond that. In Italy, unlike Spain, there’s a long and established tradition of limiting the circulation of vehicles beyond a certain width (or height or whatever) in given roads or streets. They should just apply it more and more, then of course you can buy the car you want – but drive the routes you’re allowed to. Alas, quite the contrary is happening, not using that normative tool as much anymore even where it would be required. As I said, the perspective of current decision-makers on this subject is clear enough. Campaigning from the Government itself to block urban safety plans like Bologna’s, which tried to reduce speed to 30 kph by default in all the city’s street (which in Spain, OTOH, is general State law).
Yeah, sorry, that’s what I meant: out along the bike-path, back along the race route.
Sorry to hear about your wife, Russ, hope she’s recovered well.
I had a cycling holiday once in Italy, it’s one of the worst for drivers. It didn’t feel like the UK where some drivers just hate cyclists and will deliberately close-pass, while otherwise driving reasonably; rather, just a subset of drivers going around like maniacs.
Depending on where, I’d say that especially in the Northern regions, a worrying percentage of drivers actually hate cyclists and deliberately close-pass. Systematically. Or deliberately launch in when you’re coming with priority and they really haven’t the spacetime to get through unless the cyclist brakes hard. Etc.
Then there’s indeed a (vast) subset of maniacs, more or less everywhere. Then again, a totally distorted driving culture, more notably in some hotspots like Milan, Rome, Naples (each with its different style). And, no, it’s not like other big cities in Europe, at least not the ones I’ve spent some time.
Ah, I forgot, the huge risk of head-on crashes because lots of people text while driving, or try to surpass no matter who’s coming on the opposite lane.
OT And just when I was about to comment that the Volta a Catalunya was being a little “meh”…
o__O
Are there any reports on exactly how Evenepoel managed to crash?
We’re straying beyond how MSR was won but Evenepoel and his DS have said he was switching from hoods to drops for the sprint and hit an unmarked pothole, causing a loss of control.
Beyond that there is the usual speculation and victim blaming without supporting evidence.
I think we’ll never know unless some very good roadside smartphone footage surfaces, and I think the very protagonists don’t really know to the detail, either.
As a sidenote, a “conspiracy theory” (I’m joking) from Contador suggested some slight wheel touch which might have caused the lack of stability as Remco switched handlebar grab, because he saw them riding extremely glued to each other and a pothole would have slowed down only the bike ahead, making it very hard for the following one to avoid it without much swerving, whereas a very light contact would have slowed down both at the same time, Remco going down as the change in hand position prevented him to control sudden bike instability. Besides, it’s quite typical that when moving through the handlebar you might push an epsilon less, which on turn might lead to a little wheel touch.
Another theory focusses on the roundabout, noting that Remco was approaching too fast and sudden or excessive braking on possibly dirty surface may have caused the crash.
Whatever! As I said, conjectures with little to no relevance.
It was a crazy finale but I’ll also keep in my memories that moment when Remco just drops the bunch accelerating from the very first position, Vingo’s sprint to catch his wheel (also dropping the bunch!), then the fun moments when Jonas had decided not to cooperate anymore and angry Remco insists on and on with the peloton 10 secs back and in full eye contact, yet not being able to catch the pair. I’d have loved to watch that sprint a deux ^___^
…but the crash was also an appropriate surrealist ending.
A little *more* OT conversatiin: E3 anyone? Much food for thought. Ambiguous hints about MvdP actual conditions, several other teams joining the top ones in athletical preparation terms, good strategy opening windows of opportunity even against the superhuman champions, awful tactics by the chasers (and their team cars) plus a glimpse of genius by the eventual winner delivering the expected result but in a very different way…
(All in order in Catalunya, with Pa-Ni vibes, Vingegaard looks stronger than ever and maybe that bodes well for the chances of other Visma riders in Classics, too, besides promising a great July. The team looks in form as a whole, although in the Classics they don’t look tactically as brilliant.)
My thoughts:
Van der Poel … is now human. This is the point where he is past his very very best and the decline has started (but only just and from a truly extraordinary level). He can still win races, but he can no longer simply ride away and crush everyone else. I would be surprised if he beats Pogacar at Flanders, and he is no longer certain to beat Pogacar at Roubaix. He won’t be better at those races than at E3 Harelbeke.
Vingegaard is finally back to his level before his crash at Itzulia in 2024. The other GC riders at Catalunya are racing for second and don’t believe they can win. If Pogacar does not take the challenge seriously, he can be beaten at the Tour de France.
Agreed 100% on this being the most plausible scenario. Alternative views: MvdP has an historical record of going very deep in too long an effort coming close to collapse when preparing for peak events. OTOH, it’s also more than possible that his decision of forwarding the first block of road form might mean that he’s now on a downward curve not only in general age terms but also in «local» (2026 Spring) ones. WVA instead, albeit still hugely far from his past self, looks like he’s gradually building up… a new chance at Roubaix?
Re: Vingegaard, spot on, the rest didn’t even try much on Friday after he opened gas. On the contrary, on Saturday the difference didn’t look as radical, but the Dane was maybe saving energies, recovering from the day before or just not in the mood of further showing off. Anyway he looks much better than he did in Spring 2024, even before the horror crash, and in 2025 of course. Mentally even more than physically, which in his case (as in most) may matter much. Pogi’s Monument quest could cost quantity come July, but he says he’s aware and fine – we’ll see. Will Vinge keep steady all the same his Giro aims while using it as proper prep as Pogi did, or will he sense the July chance and refocus on TDF only?
By the way, UAE is radiating powerful JV 2024 vibes, lots of injuries and many a supporting cast underperforming compared with their supreme version although still at a high level of course. The greats will be greats as shown by Vingo at that 2024 TDF, but the context might be very different and make a big difference.
MvdP was definitely glass cranking yesterday. I agree that he probably must have gone past his absolute peak and might not be as equipped to take it to Pogacar at Flanders and Roubaix. But equally I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins both.