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

[AmRacer]

Not really. I decide in my mind what i believe would be the best tactics from race to race that i watch. Every race is different. And so too what tactics i would employ if i was the one deciding. It is not a fixed mindset in how i would approach every race. Ofcourse im not the one doing it and feeling the legs. But neither do the people in the car. Im also always thinking of the win. Not about getting a good podium. Unless its a stage race and riding a certain way could get you the overall. Im still thinking about the win. But the overall win. Not the stage win. Stage wins are not important to me in a gc. Just a nice bonus. I will say that if you are the 'weaker' rider you would try and find ways to nullify the difference or find ways to turn the situation in your favour so you end up strongest/ winning. Visma in the giro of last year did a wonderful job of turning the GT in their favour. Whilst UAE failed to get the win when they probably had the best rider in the race.

Simon had the best Dom and also Carapaz.

 

[KoopaCycling]

Simon had the best Dom and also Carapaz.

Yes. On that stage Simon ended up the strongest through a combination of tactics, situation, available domestique, and legs. Overall i would argue Del Toro was the strongest throughout but lost through uae inept tactics and him not realising the danger in time and failing to respond in a gt saving manner.

 

[AmRacer]

Yes. On that stage Simon ended up the strongest through a combination of tactics, situation, available domestique, and legs. Overall i would argue Del Toro was the strongest throughout but lost through uae inept tactics and him not realising the danger in time and failing to respond in a gt saving manner.

Maybe Toro couldn't keep up the pace, Simon knows a thing, or two, about that

 

[Pozzovivo]

Rewatched the last hour today. It is a great shame that races are decided by motorbikes. I thought it was one of the most epic performances and races ever, but upon closer inspection, Pogacar had probably more draft benefit from the 3-5 motorbikes directly in front of him than people sitting in the middle of the chase group. It is a disgrace, honestly.

 

[Peyresourde]

Also rewatched it and the MVP for Pogacar was definitely McNulty. Not only did he bring Pogacar up, he then proceeded to do a slightly stronger pull than Narvaez did last year.

Del Toro 'only' did a 30 second lead out in the same area where Pogacar attacked last year. He lost around 5 seconds compared to Pogacar's attack last year just in these 30 seconds although it was a death-pull.

Overall, from the start of McNulty's pull to the end of the steeper section, they were around 8 seconds faster this year. This is an enormous difference and probably the reason MvdP's legs were a bit cooked. It definitely can't be said for certain that van der Poel was worse this year (though it is unknown how much margin he had last year).

 

[Pozzovivo]

Also rewatched it and the MVP for Pogacar was definitely McNulty. Not only did he bring Pogacar up, he then proceeded to do a slightly stronger pull than Narvaez did last year.

Del Toro 'only' did a 30 second lead out in the same area where Pogacar attacked last year. He lost around 5 seconds compared to Pogacar's attack last year just in these 30 seconds although it was a death-pull.

Overall, from the start of McNulty's pull to the end of the steeper section, they were around 8 seconds faster this year. This is an enormous difference and probably the reason MvdP's legs were a bit cooked. It definitely can't be said for certain than van der Poel was worse this year (though it is unknown how much margin he had last year).

Further evidence of motorbikes impacting the race more than previous years, imo.

 

[Salvarani]

Also rewatched it and the MVP for Pogacar was definitely McNulty. Not only did he bring Pogacar up, he then proceeded to do a slightly stronger pull than Narvaez did last year.

Del Toro 'only' did a 30 second lead out in the same area where Pogacar attacked last year. He lost around 5 seconds compared to Pogacar's attack last year just in these 30 seconds although it was a death-pull.

Overall, from the start of McNulty's pull to the end of the steeper section, they were around 8 seconds faster this year. This is an enormous difference and probably the reason MvdP's legs were a bit cooked. It definitely can't be said for certain than van der Poel was worse this year (though it is unknown how much margin he had last year).

Yeah, McNulty was just fantastic.

I think MVDP rode better than what he is being credited for.

Also been my view, UAE and Pog approached Cipressa and Poggio (later) way differently. It was more a sustained high pace rather than very irregular. Less stop and go compared to last season in Cipressa. Then in Poggio, Pog took the lead and drove the tempo up succesively until MVDP cracked. Last year Pog was maybe too eager, like in Cipressa, and attacked right at the bottom of Poggio. MVDP followed. The continuing to play cat and mouse.

It was definitely by design to drive the pace up and sustain it for longer, rather than accelerating and gassing yourself up where each attempt becomes less impactful.

Sprinting after every corner in the descents instead.

Mvdp wasnt too far behind and did well to ride within himself on Poggio. Losing about 10 seconds. However, the peloton caught up with him on the descent. Where Pog and Pidcock distanced everyone more.

Watching the replay the peloton got really close towards Poggio, they were only like 10-12 seconds behind them going in.

 

[Lequack]

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AxAKhADyEVM?feature=share

 

[Pozzovivo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2035654946444464413

View: https://x.com/LucGrefte/status/2035654946444464413?s=20

 

[Peyresourde]

Further evidence of motorbikes impacting the race more than previous years, imo.

I am in the process of analyzing this, but on the Cipressa it was definitely much less egregious than on the Poggio.

1) The first half of McNulty's job was moving up through the peloton --> no moto-draft
2) during McNulty/Narvaez sections the camera moto seems to be in the same position
3) I am not sure you understood me correctly, but Del Toro was 5 seconds slower than Pogacar last year in the same section (Pogacar definitely had the moto a bit closer there last year, but it is normal with a sudden acceleration)
4) After Pogacar's attack this year several motos were close for a bit (definite effect), but later the camera moto seems to be in a similar position to last year.

Overall, the motos are always the closest during an attack, which is natural due to the sudden acceleration. Other than that, it seems rather similar compared to last year (I am talking about the Cipressa, on the Poggio it was worse).

Yeah, McNulty was just fantastic.

I think MVDP rode better than what he is being credited for.

Also been my view, UAE and Pog approached Cipressa and Poggio (later) way differently. It was more a sustained high pace rather than very irregular. Less stop and go compared to last season in Cipressa. Then in Poggio, Pog took the lead and drove the tempo up succesively until MVDP cracked. Last year Pog was maybe too eager, like in Cipressa, and attacked right at the bottom of Poggio. MVDP followed. The continuing to play cat and mouse.

It was definitely by design to drive the pace up and sustain it for longer, rather than accelerating and gassing yourself up where each attempt becomes less impactful.

Sprinting after every corner in the descents instead.

Mvdp wasnt too far behind and did well to ride within himself on Poggio. Losing about 10 seconds. However, the peloton caught up with him on the descent. Where Pog and Pidcock distanced everyone more.

Watching the replay the peloton got really close towards Poggio, they were only like 10-12 seconds behind them going in.

They timed the lead-out better this year. Last year, Narvaez ended his pull at least 50m too early and even surprised Pogacar. Then his biggest kick was slightly wasted before the steepest part.

This year Del Toro did a sustained 30 second pull in the steep part and then Pogacar went over the top. This totally cooked Ganna and also hurt van der Poel more.

I already mentioned in another post that the Cipressa descent was crucial this year as the gap over the top was much less than last year. Without Pogacar pushing the whole descent, they might have been caught before Poggio. MvdP probably did similar or possibly even more watts than last year on Poggio, just with a much more regular pace (which is easier).

 

[kingjr]

No please feel free to make it clear. I assume you mean my hypothesis on pidcock sprint speed holds little merit.

I think the reasoning you provided for your hypothesis is poor.

 

[kingjr]

Not sure where this discussion is going, but Wout outsprinted Pogacar and MVDP at E3 in 2023

I don't see your point.

 

[Sciatic]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2035654946444464413

View: https://x.com/LucGrefte/status/2035654946444464413?s=20

It's always a problem, but this was more egregious-- I didn't notice watching live they were 4-5 motos quite close in front of them.

 

[Pozzovivo]

3) I am not sure you understood me correctly,

Sorry, yeah, I did indeed misunderstand your post.

But in any case, even if it was a really good performance by Mcnulty, IDT, and Pog on the Cipressa, the motordraft from after the attack was clearly race-changing imo, and that is not ok.

This needs to be called out. I think it is fraud.

Edit: I don't know if it is deliberate, by UCI and race org, but I have a bad feeling that they profit from this "historic feat by historic rider", and they are either part of it or don't care to correct it.

 

[Peyresourde]

Sorry, yeah, I did indeed misunderstand your post.

But in any case, even if it was a really good performance by Mcnulty, IDT, and Pog on the Cipressa, the motordraft from after the attack was clearly race-changing imo, and that is not ok.

This needs to be called out for what it really is - deliberate sporting fraud also known as match fixing.

Don't even get me started on motor assistance, which sadly happens every race. Moto-drafting is the problem mentioned most often, and in my opinion this is still the least egregious problem.

What happens behind the peloton is even more scandalous (using the caravan, directly drafting behind team cars, sticky bottles or the pinnacle of assistance which is directly hanging on to the car Nibali-style). I may do a seperate post about this in the future, but in my opinion several of theses offences should lead to long bans and hanging on to the car directly should be an immediate liftime ban for any rider.

 

[Red Rick]

Sorry, yeah, I did indeed misunderstand your post.

But in any case, even if it was a really good performance by Mcnulty, IDT, and Pog on the Cipressa, the motordraft from after the attack was clearly race-changing imo, and that is not ok.

This needs to be called out. I think it is fraud.

Edit: I don't know if it is deliberate, by UCI and race org, but I have a bad feeling that they profit from this "historic feat by historic rider", and they are either part of it or don't care to correct it.

It was most egregious in Strade Bianche because Seixas was closing the gap one moment and then instantly the motor dropped back to start pulling Pogacar even more until the gap blew out.

Not that it would've mattered, but Pogacar gets so much motor draft every attack he makes that it was absolutely hysterical he was crying about it after Joux Plane.

 

[Pozzovivo]

It was most egregious in Strade Bianche because Seixas was closing the gap one moment and then instantly the motor dropped back to start pulling Pogacar even more until the gap blew out.

Not that it would've mattered, but Pogacar gets so much motor draft every attack he makes that it was absolutely hysterical he was crying about it after Joux Plane.

I agree with the sentiment of your post, but imo it was even more egregious on the Poggio on saturday where it likely decided a monument in cycling!

 

[canina82]

It was most egregious in Strade Bianche because Seixas was closing the gap one moment and then instantly the motor dropped back to start pulling Pogacar even more until the gap blew out.

Not that it would've mattered, but Pogacar gets so much motor draft every attack he makes that it was absolutely hysterical he was crying about it after Joux Plane.

[content deleted]Seixas was 2 meters behind Pogacar. He just went too much time over the limit. For some reason, Del Toro caught him 1 km later. Not because he was worse than Seixas but because he managed his effort/pace better.

Watch the video: minute 23

View: https://youtu.be/J9MN6rtKS_Y?is=Q7bzkAy8M6bxEGzX

 

[Peyresourde]

Strade was on 10% gravel. The effects of the motos are a magnitude less than at 40kph on Poggio. And yes, with magnitude I mean 10 times less.

 

[Red Rick]

Strade was on 10% gravel. The effects of the motos are a magnitude less than at 40kph on Poggio. And yes, with magnitude I mean 10 times less.

It's about the optics of someone closing the gap slowly and the motor getting closer to Pogacar as a response.

 

[rokovski]

His mechanic said for Slovenian newspaper, that Pogi won with a cracked frame and the disc was rubbing against the brake pad.
Now UCIshould disqualify him. 😅

 

[KoopaCycling]

I think the reasoning you provided for your hypothesis is poor.

That is fine. I can think what i think even if the rest finds my reason behind it lacking or wrong

 

[AmRacer]

That is fine. I can think what i think even if the rest finds my reason behind it lacking or wrong

Maybe Remco did wrong tactically today, putting his nose in the wind a second early or late.

 

[Oldman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2035654946444464413

View: https://x.com/LucGrefte/status/2035654946444464413?s=20

This is an amazing aerodynamic breakthrough! I've motorpaced...alot for training. My bike, the lead moto/car could never generate a worthwhile draft if I wasn't within 8' at 25 mph.

This actually looks like the combination of motos, if the implications are true: can extend a draft and have it bend around the corners when the rider is beyond 20' !!!
Really, f*ck*ng........amazing.

 

[Oldman]

It was most egregious in Strade Bianche because Seixas was closing the gap one moment and then instantly the motor dropped back to start pulling Pogacar even more until the gap blew out.

Not that it would've mattered, but Pogacar gets so much motor draft every attack he makes that it was absolutely hysterical he was crying about it after Joux Plane.

I saw another amazing thing at Milan San Remo.
This almost equals that in theory: Seixas is 4' off Tadejs' wheel and couldn't get as much draft off him as Tadej go off the moto that was 20' in front of him going 17kph. The whole organization must be complicit....