The Race course of this year's edition of Milan-Sanremo is stuff for the history books. UAE Team Emirates mechanic Boštjan Kavčnik revealed to the Slovenian news magazine "Delo" More details about Tadej Pogačar's victory have now emerged, making the drama seem even bigger. The Slovenian is said to have won the first Monument of the season with a broken frame.
"Normally the team is on the road for an hour and a half by the time Tadej has finished all his post-race commitments. This time we waited for him and congratulated him before we left Sanremo. It was a special race for all of us. He won despite the drama and even though his frame broke in the crash and the brake disc rubbed against the brake pads," Kavčnik told Delo.si.
Damage only discovered at the finish line
Pogačar and his team noticed the damage to the Colnago Y1RS only after crossing the finish line. "The rear triangle was damaged, but fortunately it didn't give way. If Tadej had known the condition of the bike, he wouldn't have ridden so uncompromisingly that even Tom Pidcock could barely keep up. This bike is now going into a special collection, even though it is defective," says Kavčnik. The team would have changed Pogačar's bike immediately if they had known about the damage.
The mechanic did not initially say exactly where the frame was broken. Pictures of the race taken after the crash show various types of damage as a result of the crash. The left seat stay has several scratches, and there appears to have been major damage to the central connection to the seat tube. Days after the memorable victory, the Cycling blogger Lukáš Ronald Lukács a picture showing a clear structural damage on the right seat stay of Pogacar's Colnago Y1RS after the finish in Sanremo.
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The crash occurred 32 kilometres before the finish. Team mechanic Boštjan Kavčnik told Delo magazine: "Tadej flew onto the left side, which has no rear derailleur, but the derailleur activated crash mode anyway. Tadej reset it himself and had the feeling that everything else was fine, so we didn't change the bike," Kavčnik reported. The crash hardly changed the tactical plans. "It happened when we wanted to increase the pace and that's exactly what our riders did, but not at the front of the race, but in the peloton. Fortunately, Tadej is so well prepared that he was able to make up for what he missed."
New equipment for Sanremo: Single drive for the first time
Compared to the previous year, the team made some changes to the world champion's equipment for the classic. "For the first time, Tadej opted for just one chainring. By removing one chainring and the front derailleur, we gained weight and aerodynamics. He also used higher rims with narrower tyres. Last year it was 30 millimetres, this year 28. Our performance department calculated that this would be most effective in such a fast race," explained Kavčnik.
Drivetrains with just one chainring have been a trend in recent years, especially in flat and moderately hilly races. Pogačar's rivals Thomas Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5, 2nd place), Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease A Bike, 3rd) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek, 4th) also favoured single drivetrains from their gear supplier SRAM, which has been promoting this configuration for several years. The fact that Pogačar resorts to this is unusual, however: his gear supplier Shimano is traditionally an advocate of the double drivetrain with front derailleur.
After Milan-Sanremo is before Paris-Roubaix
Mechanic Kavčnik also travelled the Paris-Roubaix route with Pogačar in December. "Before the race in Flanders, we're doing another tour of Roubaix. So far, we have received the data that the sports department needs to calculate which equipment and settings are best. Tadej has already made up his mind, with the Y1RS modelthat he had never ridden in Roubaix before. That's why we often repeated the ride on the cobbles and tested different tyre widths and pressures. The mechanics promised us material that is adapted for riding on cobblestones."
Pogačar prepared for Sanremo and Roubaix with equal fervour. "These are specific races where you have to feel the roads and corners. It's not just about choosing better material than before, but also about Tadej's readiness. And that is at an even higher level than before," emphasised Kavčnik. The rivals felt this at Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo.
The best rider in the world continued to improve and is now concentrating on Paris-Roubaix on 12 April. "In Sanremo, he sensed where the competition was. He already had his head at the finish in Roubaix. Immediately after the race he told me that he needed tyres there because he had to start training," Kavčnik reported. Pogačar wants to complete his collection of monuments and win Roubaix for the first time this year.
Jens Klötzer
Editor
