Hincapie and co. convinced: Pogačar in Milan-San Remo may have been his best performance ever

The days when riders such as Mark Cavendish and Arnaud Démare could win Milan-San Remo now feel very far away. Each year the race is ridden harder on the climbs, and the result is that even a five-time Tour de France winner like Pogačar can now stand on the top step of the podium in La Primavera. “Milan-San Remo used to be the Monument for sprinters. Now the best climber in the world wins it,” Hincapie said.

This year, though, it briefly looked as if the Cipressa would not be raced at the same ruthless speed as in 2025. Pogačar crashed with 30 kilometres remaining and only just made it back in time for the start of the climb. Hincapie could hardly believe what he was watching. “With 30 kilometres to go, two of the eventual top three hit the ground. It’s unbelievable that they still came back from that. I can’t remember ever seeing something like it,” he said in astonishment.

Hincapie, who himself started La Primavera 15 times, knows exactly how difficult that is. “It’s already so fast heading into those climbs, and then there’s the section in between as well. Into the wind, that is really hard,” said the American, who was especially impressed by Pogačar, Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel.

“There is such a huge advantage in the slipstream. Normally, the group behind should always bring three riders like that back, but they were just so incredibly strong and controlled it so well.” According to the boss of the new Modern Adventure Cycling team, that came down mainly to the race intelligence of the three leaders. “They know exactly what they need to push to stay clear of the peloton. They don’t waste a single pedal stroke.”

According to Martin, Hincapie’s podcast partner, this victory could also mean a great deal for the rest of the spring. “Milan-San Remo is the hardest Monument for him to win. If Van der Poel has even one small moment of weakness in Roubaix, Pogačar can win that too.”

Martin was therefore hugely impressed by what the Slovenian produced in Sanremo. “This may well have been the best performance of Pogačar’s career.” The American analyst pointed in particular to the pressure that had built around this race for the world champion. “The 2021 Tour was fantastic as well, but there was much less pressure on him then than there is now.”