Tadej Pogačar’s victory at Milan-San Remo 2026 was always going to be one of the race’s great stories. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider crashed heavily just 6 kilometres before the Cipressa, bringing down Wout van Aert, Biniam Girmay, and Matteo Jorgenson in the process. For most riders, that would have been the end of their race.
For Pogačar, it was merely a detour on the way to an historic victory.
The Crash That Changed Everything
The incident split the peloton at the worst possible moment, forcing multiple favourites into immediate damage limitation mode just as the race was reaching its critical phase. Pogačar suffered cuts and abrasions, briefly losing his position in the front group — yet his response was breathtaking.
Rather than managing his way through the remainder of the race, Pogačar regained his position and almost immediately began attacking on the Cipressa — the race’s penultimate climb — demonstrating the resilience that has made him the defining rider of his generation.
The Decisive Selection on the Cipressa
UAE Team Emirates-XRG had been setting a fierce pace through Brandon McNulty and Isaac del Toro, whittling the lead group down before the final climbs. But it was Pogačar who delivered the decisive blow on the Cipressa, launching an attack that shed all but the most resolute pursuers.
By the time the race hit the legendary Poggio — the final categorized climb before the Via Roma finish — only Pogačar and Tom Pidcock remained in serious contention. The two riders traded accelerations through the final kilometres before arriving together on the Via Roma for a two-up sprint that Milan-San Remo rarely produces.
A Margin of Just 4 Centimetres
Pidcock came desperately close. The Pinarello Q36.5 rider threw everything into the sprint and, for a moment, looked as though he might have edged it. But Pogačar found just enough in his legs to hold on — the photo finish measuring a winning margin of just 4 centimetres across the line.
The victory came after a mammoth 298-kilometre day in the saddle, completed at an average speed of 45.5km/h over 6 hours and 35 minutes — numbers that illustrate just how extraordinary the modern professional peloton truly is.
The Fourth Monument — A Historic Achievement
With this win, Pogačar becomes the only active rider to have won four of cycling’s five Monument classics — adding Milan-San Remo to his palmares alongside Tour of Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Il Lombardia.
He needs only Paris-Roubaix to complete the Monument set — a race that has so far eluded him, and which, given its unique demands on cobblestone endurance and bike handling, represents perhaps the most distinct challenge remaining in his remarkable career.
What the Eddy Merckx Comparison Really Means
The performance left even Eddy Merckx — who was reportedly watching — “speechless,” according to reports from the race. That reaction from cycling’s greatest-ever rider speaks to the magnitude of what Pogačar is achieving at just 25 years of age.
For cycling fans, the Spring Classics season of 2026 is already delivering extraordinary racing. And if Milan-San Remo is any guide, the coming months promise to be among the most memorable in recent cycling history.
