Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates XRG winner during the men's elite race of the Milano-Sanremo one day cycling race (298 km) from Pavia to Sanremo - North West Italy - March 20, 2026. Sport - cycling . (Photo by Massimi Paolone/LaPresse)

'When I crashed, for a second I thought it was all over' - How Pogačar survived a crash before finally winning Milan-San Remo

A crash with 30km to go, a desperate teammate chase, and a record-breaking Cipressa climb. Pogačar's fourth monument victory was the one that should never have happened.

By Danny Bellion · · 4 min read

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won the 2026 Milan-San Remo, beating Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) by half a wheel after dropping Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) on the Poggio.

Results

Milan - San Remo • Mar 21 • 294km

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
SI flagTadej Pogačar
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG6:35:49
🥈
GB flagThomas Pidcock
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
🥉
BE flagWout van Aert
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:04
4
DK flagMads Pedersen
LIDL-TREK+0:04
5
NZ flagCorbin John Strong
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:04
6
IT flagAndrea Vendrame
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:04
7
BE flagJasper Stuyven
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:04
8
NL flagMathieu van der Poel
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:04
9
IT flagMatteo Trentin
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:04
10
IT flagEdoardo Zambanini
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:04
11
BE flagJenno Berckmoes
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:04
12
ES flagAlex Aranburu Deva
COFIDIS+0:04
13
DK flagTobias Lund Andresen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:04
14
NL flagMike Teunissen
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:04
15
SI flagMatej Mohoric
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:04
16
FR flagChristophe Laporte
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:04
17
FR flagPaul Lapeira
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:04
18
FR flagRomain Gregoire
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:04
19
NZ flagLaurence Pithie
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:04
20
ES flagJon Barrenetxea Golzarri
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:04
21
FR flagBastien Tronchon
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:04
22
FR flagBryan Coquard
COFIDIS+0:04
23
UY flagGuillermo Thomas Silva Coussan
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:04
24
NO flagJonas Abrahamsen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:04
25
DE flagGeorg Zimmermann
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:04
26
DE flagMaximilian Schachmann
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:04
27
DK flagKasper Asgreen
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:04
28
US flagBrandon Mcnulty
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:04
29
FR flagClément Braz Afonso
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:04
30
DK flagMichael Valgren
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:04
31
CH flagMauro Schmid
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:04
32
DK flagMikkel Honoré
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:04
33
IT flagFilippo Ganna
INEOS GRENADIERS+0:04
34
GB flagMark Jamie Donovan
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:04
35
ER flagNatnael Tesfatsion
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:04
36
FR flagJordan Labrosse
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:04
37
SI flagPrimož Roglič
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:04
38
IT flagGiulio Ciccone
LIDL-TREK+0:04
39
IT flagAlessandro Covi
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:04
40
IT flagGiulio Pellizzari
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:10
41
FR flagJulian Alaphilippe
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:23
42
US flagMatteo Jorgenson
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:42
43
BE flagLiam Slock
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:41
44
IT flagAndrea Bagioli
LIDL-TREK+2:07
45
IT flagMatteo Sobrero
LIDL-TREK+2:07
46
BE flagFabio van den Bossche
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+2:58
47
IT flagDavide Ballerini
XDS ASTANA TEAM+3:00
48
IT flagMattia Bais
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+3:00
49
ES flagIvan Garcia Cortina
MOVISTAR TEAM+3:03
50
IT flagSergio Meris
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+3:17
51
NL flagRick Pluimers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:45
52
GB flagAlfred Brockwell Wright
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:45
53
IT flagMirco Maestri
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+3:45
54
IT flagFilippo Turconi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+3:45
55
IT flagLuca Paletti
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+3:45
56
FR flagClement Venturini
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+3:45
57
SK flagLukáš Kubiš
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+3:45
58
DK flagWilliam Levy
UNO-X MOBILITY+3:45
59
ES flagFrancisco Muñoz Llana
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+3:45
60
DE flagJohn Degenkolb
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+3:45
61
IT flagGiovanni Lonardi
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+3:45
62
NO flagSøren Wærenskjold
UNO-X MOBILITY+3:45
63
KZ flagYevgeniy Fedorov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+3:45
64
IT flagLorenzo Conforti
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+3:45
65
BE flagRobbe Dhondt
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+3:45
66
GB flagBjoern Koerdt
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+3:45
67
BE flagLaurenz Rex
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+3:45
68
DK flagAnders Foldager
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+3:45
69
BE flagJasper Philipsen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+3:45
70
IT flagFilippo Ridolfo
TEAM NOVO NORDISK+3:45
71
IT flagDario Igor Belletta
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+3:45
72
DK flagCasper Pedersen
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+3:45
73
NL flagHartthijs de Vries
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+3:45
74
FR flagPaul Ourselin
COFIDIS+3:45
75
IT flagAlessandro Borgo
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+3:45
76
IT flagEdoardo Zamperini
COFIDIS+3:45
77
NO flagErik Nordsaeter Resell
UNO-X MOBILITY+3:45
78
BE flagEdward Planckaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+3:45
79
BE flagBrent van Moer
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:45
80
FR flagPaul Magnier
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+3:45
81
FR flagPierre Gautherat
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+3:45
82
LV flagKrists Neilands
NSN CYCLING TEAM+3:45
83
EE flagMadis Mihkels
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+3:45
84
RU flagRoman Ermakov
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+3:45
85
DE flagJasha Sütterlin
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+3:45
86
FR flagClement Izquierdo
COFIDIS+3:45
87
AU flagMatthew Dinham
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+3:45
88
DE flagJonas Rutsch
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+3:45
89
ES flagPau Miquel Delgado
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+3:45
90
AU flagKelland O’Brien
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+3:45
91
US flagLuke Lamperti
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+3:45
92
PL flagFilip Maciejuk
MOVISTAR TEAM+3:45
93
BE flagXandro Meurisse
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:45
94
NL flagJelle Johannink
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+3:45
95
NO flagAnders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+3:45
96
FR flagQuentin Pacher
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+3:45
97
IT flagLorenzo Rota
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+3:45
98
BE flagOliver Naesen
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+3:45
99
DE flagFlorian Stork
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:45
100
BE flagLuca van Boven
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+3:45
101
NZ flagDion Allan Smith
NSN CYCLING TEAM+3:45
102
AU flagNicholas Schultz
NSN CYCLING TEAM+3:45
103
IT flagAlberto Bettiol
XDS ASTANA TEAM+3:45
104
IT flagDamiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+3:45
105
AU flagJack Leonard Haig
INEOS GRENADIERS+3:45
106
IT flagAndrea Pietrobon
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+3:45
107
CZ flagTomas Kopecký
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+3:45
108
ER flagBiniam Girmay
NSN CYCLING TEAM+3:45
109
DK flagChristopher Jensen
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+3:45
110
MX flagIsaac del Toro Romero
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+4:01
111
DK flagMagnus Nielsen
UNO-X MOBILITY+4:01
112
HR flagFran Miholjević
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+4:08
113
FR flagValentin Ferron
COFIDIS+4:18
114
BE flagTimo Kielich
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+4:47
115
GB flagOliver Peace
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+4:52
116
AT flagMarco Haller
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+5:01
117
CZ flagMathias Vacek
LIDL-TREK+5:49
118
IT flagLuca Colnaghi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+5:49
119
NL flagWouter Poels
UNIBET ROSE ROCKETS+5:59
120
BE flagVictor Campenaerts
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+6:15
121
NZ flagFinn Lachlan Fox Fisher-Black
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+6:29
122
FR flagBenjamin Thomas
COFIDIS+6:37
123
IT flagGianni Moscon
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+7:13
124
AU flagHarrison Sweeny
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+7:13
125
GB flagJoshua Michael Tarling
INEOS GRENADIERS+7:13
126
CA flagPier-André Côté
NSN CYCLING TEAM+7:42
127
GB flagLewis Askey
NSN CYCLING TEAM+7:42
128
KZ flagNicolya Vinokurov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+9:07
129
DK flagSøren Kragh Andersen
LIDL-TREK+9:12
130
IT flagMarco Manenti
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+9:12
131
BE flagFlorian Vermeersch
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+11:14
132
AT flagFelix Grossschartner
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+11:14
133
NL flagHuub Artz
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+11:14
134
IT flagGabriele Raccagni
TEAM POLTI VISITMALTA+11:14
135
DK flagMathias Norsgaard
LIDL-TREK+11:14
136
GB flagOwain Doull
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+11:50
137
FR flagClément Russo
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+13:03
138
AU flagAlastair Mackellar
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+13:03
139
IT flagAntonio Polga
TEAM NOVO NORDISK+14:35
140
GB flagSam Brand
TEAM NOVO NORDISK+14:35
141
GB flagHamish Armitt
TEAM NOVO NORDISK+14:35
142
NL flagFrank van den Broek
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+14:35
143
IT flagLorenzo Milesi
MOVISTAR TEAM+14:35
144
IT flagEdoardo Affini
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+15:04
145
NO flagÅdne Holter
UNO-X MOBILITY+15:04
146
NO flagTord Gudmestad
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+15:04
147
NL flagTim Marsman
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+15:04
148
IT flagMattia Cattaneo
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+15:04
149
NL flagDanny van Poppel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+15:04
150
BE flagEmiel Verstrynge
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+15:04
151
FR flagAxel Laurance
INEOS GRENADIERS+15:04
152
CH flagJohan Jacobs
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+15:04
153
LU flagKévin Geniets
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+16:11
154
CH flagSilvan Dillier
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+16:11
155
RU flagGleb Syritsa
XDS ASTANA TEAM+16:23
156
LU flagArthur Kluckers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+16:23
157
IT flagUmberto Poli
TEAM NOVO NORDISK+16:23
158
FR flagNoa Isidore
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+16:23
159
GB flagConnor Swift
INEOS GRENADIERS+16:23
160
SE flagJacob Eriksson
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+16:23
161
NL flagPepijn Reinderink
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+16:23
162
GB flagBen Turner
INEOS GRENADIERS+16:23
163
IT flagManuele Tarozzi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+16:23
164
IT flagManlio Moro
MOVISTAR TEAM+17:48
165
ES flagXabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+17:48
166
AT flagMichael Gogl
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+18:57
167
IT flagMartin Marcellusi
BARDIANI CSF 7 SABER+18:57
168
FR flagAlexy Faure Prost
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+19:54

But what preceded that was not the clean, scripted demolition UAE had planned. It was messier, more improvised, and in several respects more impressive than anything the team managed in last year's near-miss.

When Pogačar hit the deck around a left-hand corner in Imperia, his race should have been over. “When I crashed, for a second I thought it was all over” he said after the race. By the time he got back on his bike he was trailing the peloton by around 40 seconds with only a few kilometers to go before the base of the Cipressa. It was down to Florian Vermeersch and Felix Grossschartner to bring the world champion back and they did a monster performance to reduce the gap to 8 seconds by the start of the climb.

McNulty delivers the MVP performance

A rider arriving at the base of the Cipressa out of position in Milan-San Remo does not normally get a second chance. The climb is too short, the pace too high, the road too narrow for riders to move up easily.

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) had different ideas. With Pogačar still off the back as the Cipressa began, McNulty drove the pace and created space for Pogačar to follow. Within two minutes, and 4.6km still to climb, Pogačar was back at the front. McNulty wasn't done there and continued to push the pace for another 40 seconds before handing over to Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) .

The rescue proved more critical than any single attack. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) had already crashed out with 242km to go, and with Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez absent from the roster, UAE's Cipressa lead-out train was thinner than planned. McNulty's effort was an improvisation that preserved the entire race strategy.

Del Toro was only on the front for 500m before Pogačar launched, Pidcock right on the wheel and van der Poel struggling to bridge across. Pogačar attacked again with 400 metres to the summit but couldn't shake the two behind him.

The Cipressa was covered in 8:57, tying the previous race record set in 2025. But even more impressively, Pogačar did the climb in 8:48. That came despite what appeared to be light headwind rather than the tailwind that powered last year's record-breaking assault. The chase group crossed the summit 25 seconds down.

Cipressa & Poggio Climb Times

2026 vs 2025 comparison

Velora
CipressaPoggio
Distance5.6km (4.1%)3.7km (3.7%)
Record8:595:31
20258:595:53
20268:575:42
Pogačar 20268:485:42

On the Poggio, the race became a direct test. Pogačar attacked immediately, with Pidcock glued to his wheel and Van der Poel unable to match the acceleration, finally being distanced. Finally Pogačar had achieved his goal of dropping van der Poel. Unfortunately for him, Pidcock was able to cover the attacks with relative ease. The Poggio was covered in 5:42, compared with 5:53 in 2025 and the strava record of 5:31.

Pidcock's persistence was what turned the finale from a solo victory ride into a sprint. He followed every acceleration on the Cipressa and the Poggio without taking a turn at the front until the descent, where Pogačar pushed hard to extend the gap. By the flamme rouge, 24 seconds separated the front pair from the chase.

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacked from behind, but it was too late. Pogačar led from one kilometre out and despite Pidcock trying to bait him into an early sprint, held on to win by half a wheel at the line.

In 2025, UAE engineered what was arguably the perfect Cipressa assault and Pogačar still could not shake Van der Poel. In 2026, things went wrong before the climbs even started, and Pogačar won anyway. After the race Pogačar said that if it wasn't for his teammates he would have skipped the Cipressa and ridden straight to the finish. The plan fell apart but the team executed perfectly to deliver a fourth monument. Only Roubaix remains.

Danny

Danny Bellion

Senior Tech Editor

Danny is an ultra-endurance cyclist and the technical co-founder of Velora. He’s been riding for over 20 years across road, gravel and MTB and done gravel races on both sides of the Atlantic. He’s completed ultras including BikingMan Oman and Dales Divide, where he finished 2nd in 2021.

Away from racing, he’s ridden in more than 40 countries, from bikepacking trips across Europe to an eight-month tour of Asia. He draws on two decades of experience to inform Velora’s product reviews, training and event coverage.