🎥 Sanremo: Leading group took wrong turn; crashes involving INEOS, Pogacar, Van Aert, and Van der Poel injured
CyclingSaturday, 21 March 2026 at 17:26
Milan-Sanremo 2026 got underway early on Saturday for the elite men, but the organisers did not look fully switched on either. When the peloton officially rolled out at 10:10 AM local time, a group quickly went clear. They thought they were joining the break of the day, but at a roundabout they went straight on when they were supposed to turn right. After a few calmer hours, things then went wrong again later in the race.
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Two weeks after Strade Bianche, where a chasing group in the elite women’s race was incorrectly directed by the organisation onto a gravel section, there was another organisational blunder. The Italian race convoy once again appeared to lose track of the route, with the cars and motorbikes going the wrong way before the riders followed them.
Suddenly, the brave attackers were no longer out in front and had to chase back to the peloton. They managed to do that without too much trouble, because another group had already gone clear and the bunch quickly shut things down. Even so, for many of the riders who were sent the wrong way, their race plan was effectively ruined before Milan-Sanremo had really settled down.
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Continue reading below the video
Pogacar loses a teammate, INEOS Grenadiers crash with three riders
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Once the opening phase was over, nine riders had established the breakaway and the peloton had settled into position, it was time for a few relatively quiet hours. That changed as the race moved inside the final 60 kilometres. More teams wanted to move up, the fight for position intensified, and a crash followed. INEOS Grenadiers
Marcel Camprubí, riding for Pinarello-Q36.5, came into contact with a rider from INEOS before several riders hit the deck heavily on the left-hand side of the road. Camprubí was clearly in pain but was able to continue. The same was true for Connor Swift and Ben Turner. Michal Kwiatkowski, however, could not continue and was forced to abandon while lying in pain at the roadside.
Earlier in the race, Jan Christen of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Orluis Aular of Movistar had also crashed. Both riders were forced to abandon as well.
Pogacar and Van Aert; Van der Poel hits a bike
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Early in the race, Jan Christen (UAE) and Orluis Aular (Movistar) had already crashed. Both riders withdrew. But the most significant crash occurred near the base of the Cipressa. Tadej Pogacar went down, and of course, he had major contenders on his wheel. Footage showed Wout van Aert was also among those involved in the crash, but it later turned out that Mathieu van der Poel was injured as well.
The Dutchman was held up, but was the first to return to the Cipressa. At the finish, however, IDLProCycling.com noticed significant wounds on his left hand and arm. It turned out to have been caused by contact with a bicycle. Despite the crash, Pogacar won the race and Van Aert finished third. Van der Poel ended the day in eighth place in the results.
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Latest Comments
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
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