Tadej Pogacar quickly snapped a photo of the podium ceremony on Via Roma with his mobile phone. Yet the third-placed cycling star had actually had quite different images in mind. However, there was a surprising reason why he once again failed to secure victory in the Milan–San Remo cycling classic on Saturday.
Milan–San Remo 2024 sets a record
For Pogacar, it simply wasn’t “tough enough”, even though the Belgian sprint king Jasper Philipsen’s victory had seen him clock the fastest average speed over 288 kilometres – 46.112 km/h – in the 115-year history of the Italian spring classic.
“I actually think it was one of the easiest races ever. We rode at a very easy pace in the first few hours. But to win, everything has to be perfect. This time, not everything was perfect,” analysed the Slovenian, who had actually intended to shake off the sprinters on the Cipressa, the penultimate climb.
Tadej Pogacar is struggling
But his UAE Team’s pacing strategy didn’t really work out either. “As we’ve changed the way the race is run in recent years, everyone is prepared to suffer on the Cipressa and perform well on the Poggio,” the 25-year-old lamented.
Pogacar tried his luck once more on the Poggio – the final climb – with two sharp attacks, but the Dutch world champion and last year’s winner, Mathieu van der Poel, brought his rivals – and with them his fast team-mate Philipsen – back into the mix. “On the descent, I begged Mathieu not to work with Pogacar because I had good legs. Mathieu did a wonderful job. I’ll always be grateful to him for giving me the chance to win a Monument,” said Philipsen.
Mathieu van der Poel wanted to follow in Erik Zabel’s footsteps
Teamwork at its best – and yet van der Poel would have loved nothing more than to become the first rider since Erik Zabel (2001) to defend his title at Sanremo. “Oh, how I would have loved to ride into the final with Tadej,” said van der Poel. Instead, Philipsen – who won four stages and the Green Jersey at last year’s Tour de France – edged out Australian sprinter Michael Matthews and all-rounder Pogacar by the narrowest of margins.
A scenario that has become increasingly rare in recent years. Whilst fast sprinters such as Zabel, Mark Cavendish and Alessandro Petacchi used to triumph regularly in San Remo, the races have changed fundamentally with the new generation of cyclists. These days, riders such as Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and van der Poel provide the spectacle well before the finish line. The best example of this was the Pogacar’s 81-kilometre solo ride in the 2024 Strade Bianche gravel race two weeks ago.
Pogacar will now leave the field to his rivals in the upcoming classics; the Slovenian is aiming for the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double this year. Only at Liège–Bastogne–Liège, where he suffered a scaphoid fracture in a crash last year, will he still line up to take on Evenepoel.
Tadej Pogacar’s 2024 race programme
- Strade Bianche (2 March)
- Milan–San Remo (16 March)
- Tour of Catalonia (18–24 March)
- Liège–Bastogne–Liège (21 April)
- Giro d’Italia (4–26 May)
- Tour de France (29 June – 21 July)
- Olympics (Individual Time Trial) – (27 July)
- Olympics (Road Race) – (3 August)
- Quebec Grand Prix (13 September)
- Montreal Grand Prix (15 September)
- Cycling World Championships (Road Race) – (29 September)
- Tour of Lombardy (12 October)
Milan–San Remo 2024: How the Germans fared
And what of the Germans? Georg Zimmermann, in 39th place, was still the best of just seven riders. This is, in a way, indicative of the crisis facing German cycling, which is no longer represented among the world’s elite. The last victory to date was secured by John Degenkolb in 2015; the 35-year-old from Thuringia wasn’t taking part this time round. His focus is on his favourite race, Paris–Roubaix. At least he won’t be facing Pogacar in that cobbled ordeal.
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