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

[proffate]

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.

He did what he had to do and it worked. I'm only responding to the weird remark that the others would have improved their chances by letting him go.

 

[proffate]

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.

You can see the chase group making huge gains right before the poggio and the finish line, both places where Pog was prepping his attacks. And he pulled like 80% of the way, at least. Not sure how much more obvious it could be that he was not riding at an optimal pace i.e. what you'd do in a TT.

 

[P4rthen0n]

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.

If the chasing group would have enough quality domestiques to put in the work, then fine, Pog might have been in trouble alone.
But if group 2 was something like Pidcock, MVDP, Wout, Ganna, there's a very high chance for group 2 syndrome happening. They may even lose time looking at each other instead of working with each other.

The last time i remember Pog being caught during a solo effort was in Amstel Gold race last year and that only happened because Remco had super fresh legs and buried himself for 40km chasing him. But Remco is one of the TT goats ever, he's a prodigy.

 

[Oldman]

You can see the chase group making huge gains right before the poggio and the finish line, both places where Pog was prepping his attacks. And he pulled like 80% of the way, at least. Not sure how much more obvious it could be that he was not riding at an optimal pace i.e. what you'd do in a TT.

He paces and rides to win. It's what drives anti-Pog analysts crazy: he doesn't waste a kilojoule of energy until it's required. That sprint was all-in and, IMO Pidcock is a better finisher but rode to assist in keeping the pack from closing. Excellent ride by both, tactially.

 

[TrekCyclist]

we will never know if different racing by MVDP / Pidcock would have produced a different winner. I think you can make a case either way, given the very close gaps at the finish and on the Poggio.
For sure Pogacar did not do 80% of the pulling after Cipressa, at least not in the coverage I watched.

 

[jotafap]

Remember when Pogacar handed McNulty the win last year?

Just rewatched MSR and, honestly, McNulty was just a beast and huge part of Pogacar comeback.
I guess he did his job, but in MSR he definitely found an extra 10% to drive it for his leader. Every little detail really counted in the end.

 

[P4rthen0n]

Remember when Pogacar handed McNulty the win last year?

Just rewatched MSR and, honestly, McNulty was just a beast and huge part of Pogacar comeback.
I guess he did his job, but in MSR he definitely found an extra 10% to drive it for his leader. Every little detail really counted in the end.

McNulty did a great job in MSR for Pogacar.
He did more for him in those 10 minutes than he did for Del Toro in the whole Giro 2025.

 

[Oldman]

we will never know if different racing by MVDP / Pidcock would have produced a different winner. I think you can make a case either way, given the very close gaps at the finish and on the Poggio.
For sure Pogacar did not do 80% of the pulling after Cipressa, at least not in the coverage I watched.

The only guy in this mix not to crash was Pidcock. Everything that happened to each of them could've gone another way by a finish that close. I still haven't seen enough broadcast to see Tadej's crash through to him passing the pack, uphill. That's the kind of all-in effort any rider would do after a crash to stay in the action and there were many on the pathway that could've affected the outcome.
Honestly; they were all seriously lucky to be in the finale.

 

[Didinho]

David Van der Poel said Mathieu's numbers were the same as last year on Cipressa and Poggio. Only difference was that the 3-4km coming back before Cipressa made it a 12-13' effort instead of just the 8'. The longer the effort, the more advantage for Pogi (and Pidcock).

 

[Red Rick]

David Van der Poel said Mathieu's numbers were the same as last year on Cipressa and Poggio. Only difference was that the 3-4km coming back before Cipressa made it a 12-13' effort instead of just the 8'. The longer the effort, the more advantage for Pogi (and Pidcock).

There's a variable that changed nobody is talking about.

Spoiler

Pidcock being a midget gives much less draft than Ganna

 

[Krzysztof_O]

There's a variable that changed nobody is talking about.

Spoiler

Pidcock being a midget gives much less draft than Ganna

Fair enough. Ganna helped MVP a lot during Pogacar's biggest surge on Cipressa last year. But I think the implications of the crash (not just the pain but the need to go fast before Cipressa) could have mattered: MVP was at a high zone already at the climb start so he had to go deeper on Cipressa, which could've been disadvantageous vs a climber like Pogacar.

 

[Red Rick]

Fair enough. Ganna helped MVP a lot during Pogacar's biggest surge on Cipressa last year. But I think the implications of the crash (no just the pain but the need to go deeper before Cipressa) could have mattered: MVP was at a high zone already at the climb start so he had to go deeper on Cipressa, which could've been disadvantageous vs a climber like Pogacar.

Also, "did the same numbers as last year" is really just 2026 speak for "I sucked"

 

[kingjr]

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.

If this had been the 90s they would have been riding right among the motorbikes, not behind them.

 

[Red Rick]

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.

You do realize a draft only means a disturbance in air pressure? Corners don't matter.

 

[Oldman]

You do realize a draft only means a disturbance in air pressure? Corners don't matter.

They do when the moto is 20' ahead and around the corner. Try it sometime...or not.

 

[Oldman]

If this had been the 90s they would have been riding right among the motorbikes, not behind them.

They would have no choice! The Giro was legendary for surrounding favorites and interfering with normal racing. Can't remember which year the UCI allegedly insisted they reduce photomotos. Seems like no photographers knew what a zoom was and insisted on being as close as possible for the money shot.