Milan San Remo, March 21, 2026, 298 km monument

[YavorD]

Rly, drafting Pogacar ahead of a peloton is the same as staying in the peloton on the premise that pogacar will make sure he stays ahead of the chasing peloton?

You know what, for debate sake, lets say Pogacar lets the peloton come back, and he shakes everyone except Pidcock on the poggio again. in what world is it smart for Pidcock to work with Pogacar after Poggio's descent?

The gap to the peloton wasn't big enough for a lot of poker games.. Pidcock is also fast, I'd say 50/50 chance to win a sprint against Pogacar.
Obviously Pogacar won't just lead him on with a hard 2 km pull, so he(Pidcock) naturally worked untill the last km.
He put himself in a great position to win the race, that's why he pulled.

 

[kingjr]

He was grimacing all Cipressa and struggling while last year he was in full control of his effort. The gap to the chasing group was smaller. Then he takes pulls consistently, but gets instadropped on the Poggio while literally everyone else does a faster Poggio time than last season after very similar race strategies, whereas last season he was counterattacking on the Poggio and even trying to drop Pogacar.

Pogacar did a lot less stop/start on the Poggio than last season because Van der Poel dropped instantly and he didn't mind taking Pidcock to a sprint.

Nah, his face looked about the same on Cipressa. But, incidentally, it is absolutely true for Pogačar, who looked much more in control this year compared to last year, when his face was clenched to a fist. And the reason Pogacar did less stop/start this year is because he was better able to sustain his attacks.

 

[YavorD]

12 months ago he felt strong, now he felt weak after the Cipressa.

I also disagree he is the best sprinter in that group. Before the race i would always say it's pidcock, but that MVDP has better accel.

So, so, so you you think Pidcock is faster than Pogacar but also wonder why Pidcock would work with Pogacar??

Why would the better sprinter in a group of 2 work? Oh why....

 

[KoopaCycling]

So, so, so you you think Pidcock is faster than Pogacar but also wonder why Pidcock would work with Pogacar??

Why would the better sprinter in a group of 2 work? Oh why....

Cause it's a race of nearly 300 km. and endurance comes into play

Obviously Pogacar won't just lead him on with a hard 2 km pull, so he(Pidcock) naturally worked untill the last km.
He put himself in a great position to win the race, that's why he pulled.

And this is where we disagree the most. Whilst i don't immediately see Pogacar meekly allowing the peloton to come back between the Cipressa and poggio, i will say there is a very small chance of the peloton making it back if Pogacar gets no help. Tiny but it's there. From the descent of the Poggio on? No way Pogacar sits up. he would indeed hard pull pidcock imo for the last kms. The very idea of attacking on the Cipressa is to whittle down the peloton to a small group, or to go solo.

So I stand by my statement that MVDP left his brain somewhere, and Pidcock helped a bit too much if he truly wanted to optimise his chances. Definitely after the Poggio he should have stayed in Pogacar wheel till the sprint.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Yeah, I don‘t get why people criticise Pidcock, he was 4 cm off the win, he can always work less, but he didn‘t kill himself working yesterday and could have even won in the sprint if he did everything right. Van der Poel is puzzling because he was dropped immediately on Poggio after working before that, it looked much like Ganna last year.

 

[YavorD]

Cause it's a race of nearly 300 km. and endurance comes into play



And this is where we disagree the most. Whilst i don't immediately see Pogacar meekly allowing the peloton to come back between the Cipressa and poggio, i will say there is a very small chance of the peloton making it back if Pogacar gets no help. Tiny but it's there. From th descent of the Poggio on? No way Pogacar sits up. he would indeed hard pull pidcock imo for the last kms. The very idea of attacking on the Cipressa is to whittle down the peloton to a small group, or to go solo.

So I stand by my statement that MVDP left his brain somewhere, and Pidcock helped a bit too much if he truly wanted to optimise his chances. Definitely after the Poggio he should have stayed in Pogacar wheel till the sprint.

But if Pogacar doesn't allow the Peloton to come back he still decreases his chances to drop VdP and Pidcock on Poggio and then win the sprint. If anything, he puts himself in an unwinnable situation.
So you think that Pogacar would put himself in an unwinnable situation by pulling alone?!

 

[KoopaCycling]

But if Pogacar doesn't allow the Peloton to come back he still decreases his chances to drop VdP and Pidcock on Poggio and then win the sprint. If anything, he puts himself in an unwinnable situation.
So you think that Pogacar would put himself in an unwinnable situation by pulling alone?!

Definitely from the descent of the Poggio on. and very possible between Cypressa and Poggio if Pidcock and MVDP play it smart and do token pulls. Not making it clear they ain't riding, but not truly riding all the same.I think Pogacar only does not ride if the other 2 are being too ostentatious about it between Poggio and Cypressa and that pisses Pogacar off. But even then he might still ride as it would still be a better chance than what he would have if the peloton comes back. From the descent of the poggio on it don't matter and they can make it clear they will only sit on his wheel. From that point Pogacar will for sure ride. Pogacar plan has been to light it up on the cipressa, then win from a small group. he does not want the peloton to come back. Add in how he has smashed the peloton often enough and that he been focusing on this race for months and i don't see why he would sit up if he is as strong as i believe him to be. I do not think pogacar won't have believe in himself even when pulling Pidcock and MVDP.

 

[YavorD]

Definitely from the descent of the Poggio on. and very possible between Cypressa and Poggio if Pidcock and MVDP play it smart and do token pulls. Not making it clear they ain't riding, but not truly riding all the same.I think Pogacar only does not ride if the other 2 are being too ostentatious about it between Poggio and Cypressa and that pisses Pogacar off. But even then he might still ride as it would still be a better chance than what he would have if the peloton comes back. From the descent of the poggio on it don't matter and they can make it clear they will only sit on his wheel. From that point Pogacar will for sure ride. Pogacar plan has been to light it up on the cipressa, then win from a small group. he does not want the peloton to come back. Add in how he has smashed the peloton often enough and that he been focusing on this race for months and i don't see why he would sit up if he is as strong as i believe him to be. I do not think pogacar won't have believe in himself even when pulling Pidcock and MVDP.

The gap in the end was 4 seconds. Only a couple of shorter/weaker pulls and Pogacar and Pidcock would be 7th and 10th in a 2 man sprint.
MVDP backed himself not to be dropped on Poggio or at least be close enough.
You talk as if Pogacar is the only one who needs to win the race while VdP's road season revolve around 3 races (and he is an outsider for 1 of them), so this race is/was his second best chance.
Pidcock in the same time finds himself in a group of 3(later 2) before basically a false flat like Poggio while he is the best sprinter (according to you) in the said group.

Both of them had all the reasons to pull and not play some silly games.

But hey, you think that Pidcock was the best sprinter and still ask why would he work, so I don't think you put any effort to look at the situation objectively.

 

[KoopaCycling]

The gap in the end was 4 seconds. Only a couple of shorter/weaker pulls and Pogacar and Pidcock would be 7th and 10th in a 2 man sprint.
MVDP backed himself not to be dropped on Poggio or at least be close enough.
You talk as if Pogacar is the only one who needs to win the race while VdP's road season revolve around 3 races (and he is an outsider for 1 of them), so this race is/was his second best chance.
Pidcock in the same time finds himself in a group of 3(later 2) before basically a false flat like Poggio while he is the best sprinter (according to you) in the said group.

Both of them had all the reasons to pull and not play some silly games.

But hey, you think that Pidcock was the best sprinter and still ask why would he work, so I don't think you put any effort to look at the situation objectively.

-A gap well measured and timed by Pogacar. Does not say much to me.
-MVDP backing himself when feeling less good than he felt last year against a stronger Pogacar is why i think he left his brain somewhere.
- best sprinter after 160-200 km, SR is 300 km so you should try and stay as fresh as possible.

I think i'm being very objective about MVDP doing way too much and Pidcock doing a little bit too much.
Not like i thought this after seeing the result either. posted the same during the actual race.

 

[YavorD]

-A gap well measured and timed by Pogacar. Does not say much to me.
-MVDP backing himself when feeling less good than he felt last year against a stronger Pogacar is why i think he left his brain somewhere.
- best sprinter after 160-200 km, SR is 300 km so you should try and stay as fresh as possible.

I think i'm being very objective about MVDP doing way too much and Pidcock doing a little bit too much.

So you think that Pogacar is smart enough to "well-measure" a gap in the heat of a 300 kilometres race so he isn't caught, but stupid enough to do 60-70% in a group of 3 (and not a random riders, but VdP and Pidcock) swith both of them better sprinters than him?

Pogacar wouldn't increase his chances of winning this way, but he would of course ride like this..

 

[proffate]

If VdP and Pidcock waited to play poker games, they would be better of staying in the group, leaving Pogacar alone in the headwind with a couple of teams chasing.
But once they spent energy on his attack, they were bound to pull.

Tbh they slowed Pog down by being in his wheel, forcing pog to take it easy before poggio and before the sprint so he could beat them there. If Pog just straight TTs, the gap is bigger at the end.

 

[YavorD]

Tbh they slowed Pog down by being in his wheel, forcing pog to take it easy before poggio and before the sprint so he could beat them there. If Pog just straight TTs, the gap is bigger at the end.

I'm not sold on that.
In fact, I think if Pogacar was solo, he would have been caught. But we will never know it that's true.

 

[Salvarani]

Tbh they slowed Pog down by being in his wheel, forcing pog to take it easy before poggio and before the sprint so he could beat them there. If Pog just straight TTs, the gap is bigger at the end.

But he is more tired and the others are more fresh before Poggio.

It would not have been good and that would have been unwise of him to do.

Him being solo over Cipressa is trickier. Maybe he expand himself too much in the headwind and gets caught. We will never know.

 

[KoopaCycling]

So you think that Pogacar is smart enough to "well-measure" a gap in the heat of a 300 kilometres race so he isn't caught, but stupid enough to do 60-70% in a group of 3 (and not a random riders, but VdP and Pidcock) swith both of them better sprinters than him?

Pogacar wouldn't increase his chances of winning this way, but he would of course ride like this..

Different race situation. In one case he is trying to win a sprint, in the other he is trying to obtain that small group sprint.

 

[AmRacer]

Different race situation. In one case he is trying to win a sprint, in the other he is trying to obtain that small group sprint.

What's one more rider....

 

[KoopaCycling]

What's one more rider....

I don't see how this follows what I posted.

 

[YavorD]

Different race situation. In one case he is trying to win a sprint, in the other he is trying to obtain that small group sprint.

But the chances of the 3 were pretty equal.
Pogacar being the weakest sprinter (if you thought Pidcock was better than Van Der Poel that's out of question) and the strongest climber with Poggio in front. Poggio isn't a place where he gets gap 100% (in fact, I think 9 of 10 times he doesn't drop at least one of them and 5 of 10 he doesn't drop any of them with a big gap).
And if he does 70-80% of pulling in a cross/head wind, his chances of dropping them further decrease.

It's fair to assume he knew that and wouldn't be stupid enough to do it. It's fair to assume VdP and Pidcock knew that as well, so they didn't want to play games.

 

[canina82]

But the chances of the 3 were pretty equal.
Pogacar being the weakest sprinter (if you thought Pidcock was better than Van Der Poel that's out of question) and the strongest climber with Poggio in front. Poggio isn't a place where he gets gap 100% (in fact, I think 9 of 10 times he doesn't drop at least one of them and 5 of 10 he doesn't drop any of them with a big gap).
And if he does 70-80% of pulling in a cross/head wind, his chances of dropping them further decrease.

It's fair to assume he knew that and wouldn't be stupid enough to do it. It's fair to assume VdP and Pidcock knew that as well, so they didn't want to play games.

Something is so wrong when Pidcock is considered a better sprinter than MVP.

 

[YavorD]

Something is so wrong when Pidcock is considered a better sprinter than MVP.

Something is wrong when Pidcock is considered the better sprinter than Van Der Poel (the best sprinter of the 3) and you still ask/think why would he work this much.
It's just people being salty.

If you have reasons to back yourself in the group you are, you work in that group unless you have a team mate in the group behind who can win the race. Neither Pidcock, nor VdP had.

Admittedly, if Philipsen was in that group, I would question VDP's riding.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Pogacar probably thinks he can win against both in a sprint after a long race .Especially since his sprint was very good. Probably trained on it. I believe Pidcock is the fastest sprinter of the 3 in a 160-200 km race. Ever since i've seen him sprint against Van Aert in Amstel i've rated his sprint speed. I do think MVDP has the better accel. not top speed.

I also believe Pogacar is the strongest of the 3, so in order to beat/optimise chances of beating Pogacar, they need to reduce his freshness and make him work. After all a sprint after 300 km is also about endurance. I'm not sure what's so strange about what i'm saying.

Merlier beats Van der poel in normal sprint, but maybe/probably not in a sprint after a long hard race. cause then endurance matters as well.

 

[HashRouge]

-A gap well measured and timed by Pogacar. Does not say much to me.
-MVDP backing himself when feeling less good than he felt last year against a stronger Pogacar is why i think he left his brain somewhere.
- best sprinter after 160-200 km, SR is 300 km so you should try and stay as fresh as possible.

I think i'm being very objective about MVDP doing way too much and Pidcock doing a little bit too much.
Not like i thought this after seeing the result either. posted the same during the actual race.

I saw an interview where MdvP said he had to do his own pace on the Poggio, but he thought Pogacar and Pidcock might look at each other, allowing him to make it back like Ganna did last year. So it sounds like he still fancied his chances in a sprint.

 

[KoopaCycling]

I saw an interview where MdvP said he had to do his own pace on the Poggio, but he thought Pogacar and Pidcock might look at each other, allowing him to make it back like Ganna did last year. So it sounds like he still fancied his chances in a sprint.

then he clearly overestimated himself and left his brain somewhere as he could not stay ahead of the peloton with his legs.

 

[vappa]

So you think that Pogacar is smart enough to "well-measure" a gap in the heat of a 300 kilometres race so he isn't caught, but stupid enough to do 60-70% in a group of 3 (and not a random riders, but VdP and Pidcock) swith both of them better sprinters than him?

Pogacar wouldn't increase his chances of winning this way, but he would of course ride like this..

Pretty sure if there was pressure from behind Pogacar would pull harder, maybe even Pidcock would take another short pull in that case

 

[AmRacer]

then he clearly overestimated himself and left his brain somewhere as he could not stay ahead of the peloton with his legs.

The brain said go, the body said no.

 

[YavorD]

Pretty sure if there was pressure from behind Pogacar would pull harder, maybe even Pidcock would take another short pull in that case

Of course both of them would pull harder.
But if Pidcock stopped working after the descend (as some suggested), I refuse to believe that Pogacar would simply do a lead-out for him.