Pogačar Triumphs at Milan-San Remo 2026 After Early Crash

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) secured victory at the 2026 Milan-San Remo, overcoming a mid-race crash to sprint to victory ahead of Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5). The race, known as “La Primavera,” saw several contenders involved in a crash with 32km remaining, including Pogačar, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Biniam Girmay (NSN), and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

Race Recap

The 117th edition of Milan-San Remo began with a nine-rider breakaway establishing a significant lead. However, the peloton maintained control, and the breakaway’s advantage began to diminish as the race approached the key climbs of Cipressa and Poggio.

A crash involving several key riders occurred before the Cipressa climb. Pogačar, van Aert, Girmay, and van der Poel were all impacted, disrupting their race strategies. Pogačar was able to rejoin the peloton quickly with the assist of his team, but sustained abrasions to his leg.

Despite the crash, Pogačar launched a decisive attack on the Poggio, the final climb before the finish. Only Pidcock and van der Poel were able to stay with him. The trio worked together until the final kilometers, where Pogačar unleashed a powerful sprint to claim the win.

Final Result

Tadej Pogačar won the sprint finish, beating Tom Pidcock by half a lap. Wout van Aert finished in fourth place, 4 seconds behind the winner.

Pogačar’s Resilience

“When I fell, at first I thought it was the end,” Pogačar stated after the race. “It was before the most important points of the race. Fortunately, I quickly got back on the bike and my body was OK. Then my colleagues brought me back and Brandon (McNulty) and Isaac (del Toro) went on. If I didn’t have this team here, I could have gone home. On the straight before Poggio, we changed, I was glad because there was a headwind. At Poggio I tried, but Tom (Pidcock) he was great today. I was lucky in the sprint after that.”

Kubiš’s Performance

Lukas Kubiš (Unibet Rose Rockets) finished 57th, 3 minutes and 45 seconds behind Pogačar, earning 5 UCI points.

Looking Ahead

With this victory, Pogačar has now won three of the five cycling monuments. Paris-Roubaix remains the only monument missing from his palmarès, and he is expected to focus his training on preparing for the challenging race across the cobblestones.