Pogacar has to let buddies go ahead and makes striking observation after fastest Milan-San Remo ever

This Saturday, Tadej Pogacar started as the absolute top favorite in Milan-San Remo but had to settle for third place on Via Roma by the Mediterranean Sea. The Slovenian from UAE-Team Emirates was able to live with it afterwards, possibly also because of the victory of his buddy Jasper Philipsen.

UAE-Team Emirates made the final hour of the race hard on all. "We had a plan and we stuck to it," Pogacar reacted to Philippe Gilbert of Eurosport after the finish. Among others, Isaac del Toro and Tim Wellens were present, while Diego Ulissi and Marc Hirschi missed their shot when it mattered most.

"We were short by ten percent on the Cipressa and afterwards, which meant we ultimately had to wait too long on the Poggio," the team leader noted in his analysis after the race. "As a result, the race was not hard enough, but I still tried with two attacks. I had incredible legs, but this edition was not tough enough for the climbers."

Pogacar makes striking observation after fastest Milan San Remo ever

Racing at more than 46 kilometers per hour, it was by far the fastest edition of Milan-San Remo ever, but according to Pogacar, it did not really feel like that in the race. "It was one of the easiest editions. Things went really smoothly for the first three hours. Everything had to be perfect, and it wasn’t. A podium, that was all it was going to be," he said. In the sprint, he eventually had to let his friends Philipsen and Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla) go ahead. "In the end, I got everything out of it for a third place, and that was the maximum we could achieve. Everything was close," concludes the podium candidate.

The Slovenian will already be in action again on Monday, in the Tour of Catalonia. Of the spring classics to come, he will only compete in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.