Pogacar hints he might not return to Milan-Sanremo after securing elusive win

Tadej Pogačar had arguably changed the very fabric of Milan-Sanremo since he began making it a yearly goal in 2022, but he had been repeatedly repelled by the magic of La Primavera, with two third place finishes to show for his efforts.

On Saturday, Pogačar finally got his elusive win on the Via Roma, and in the most dramatic of circumstances. He crashed just before the Cipressa but recovered to break the record time on the climb. He then burnt off Mathieu van der Poel, the modern Signor Sanremo, on the Poggio before beating Tom Pidcock by the narrowest of margins in a two-up sprint on the Via Roma.

Speaking to Eurosport after the podium ceremony, Pogačar hinted that he might not return to Milan-Sanremo next year now that he had finally added it to his palmarès.

“It’s incredible, I must say it’s one I could never see in my career,” Pogačar said. 

“I would not hold a grudge against it if I never won this race, but here we are. Maybe next year, I cheer from the TV or the side of the road.” 

When it was put to him that his rivals would be relieved not to see him at Milan-Sanremo again, Pogačar said: “I hope I make some people happy today.”

Pidcock, incidentally, was an immediate dissenting voice, with the Briton acknowledging that Pogačar’s raw strength had removed many of the variables from Milan-Sanremo and given him a target to follow all the way up the Cipressa and the Poggio.

“Tadej said he’s not going to come back now he’s won. So what motorbike am I going to have now to sit behind?” Pidcock told Eurosport.

Victory at Milan-Sanremo means that Pogačar has now won four of the five Monuments, and he can complete the full set by landing Paris-Roubaix next month, joining Rik Van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck as the only men in history to do so.

Pogačar’s desire to annex all the Monuments was underlined by a 2026 race programme that is remarkably light on stage racing for a defending Tour de France champion. He will not line up at a stage race until the Tour de Romandie in late April, with his focus squarely on Classics in the opening months of the season.

Pogačar’s campaign began with victory at Strade Bianche two weeks ago and he won’t race again until the Tour of Flanders in two weeks’ time, before he tackles Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“This year I really put a lot of effort for Milan-Sanremo and for Roubaix, and for all the classics that I’m doing,” Pogačar said. 

“The team is supporting me so well, because I really do what I want, what suits me and what I want. Maybe I’m pushing the limit this year, but I’m super happy that the first tick is done and now we go for the next challenge at Flanders and Roubaix.” 

Pogačar certainly wasn’t affected by his crash in the finale of Milan-Sanremo, and he downplayed its long-term impact on his Classics campaign.

“We’ll see later but the skin looks just normal, not too bad, because we were sliding quite long on the ground,” he said. 

“I hit a bit the muscle on the knee, but we will see. I think it was just normal, not too many consequences, and I hope the rest of the guys involved in the crash are ok as well.”