Why Pogacar’s Strade Bianche crash and Pidcock-chase still feels like a miracle in Tuscany

When the dust settled on the morning of 9 March and calm returned to Tuscany, there was one Italian who decided to act. He opened Word, printed an Italian text, slipped it into a protective plastic sleeve — then drove to the site of misfortune. The place where Tadej Pogacar had fallen a day earlier in Strade Bianche — but also the place where the world champion, against all odds, got back up and kept going.

The corner sits immediately after a fast descent. Take a right at Monteaperti, climb a steep gravel embankment, claw your way up an extremely steep asphalt road and the route will naturally lead you there... You start with a view over Siena, before arriving at a corner after a sequence of three sharp turns (left-right-left) — a bend you simply cannot see through. Pogacar had taken it dozens of times before, but this time he approached it too fast.

Because Tom Pidcock — riding for Q36.5 — managed to stay on Pogacar’s wheel after the usually decisive Monte Sante Marie gravel sector, the rainbow jersey of UAE Team Emirates-XRG was suddenly under real pressure. And with early breakaway companion and fellow Brit Connor Swift (INEOS) joining Pidcock, Pogacar apparently felt the need to push the pace.

The left-hand corner, past a Tuscan field and leading to a stretch of flat road toward Colle Pinzuto, was where Pogacar tried to surge to the front in the penultimate local lap. Why choose that spot — of all places — when Pidcock was in his downhill element? As the Brit shook his head taking the inside line, Pogacar slid out just in front of him.

What followed seemed like a soft fall on TV: Pogacar picked himself up, asked for his bike, straightened his glasses — and continued. But those who visited the spot in the days after knew immediately the crash had been far more serious than it looked. Behind the soft grass on the embankment lay a thorny briar bush — and Pogacar had landed right in the middle of it.

The deep cuts on his body didn’t come from sliding across asphalt, but from the prickly vegetation. An Italian left a sign at the spot that read: “Tadej Pogacar, e’stato qui” ("Tadej Pogacar was here"). That sign remained there weeks after the crash, embedded in Pogacar’s body imprint among the bushes.

Despite the severity of the crash, Pogacar didn’t just continue — he came back. He even changed bikes, reconnected with the chasing Pidcock, and on the final ascent of Colle Pinzuto — after a strong descent — Pogacar soloed to victory in Siena. A torn shoulder, a stained kit and undoubtedly a battered body under the pristine white jersey were grim reminders of just how much luck he had.

After the race, Pogacar admitted he was angry with himself for the crash. Because although he had won Strade Bianche, the world champion surely realized in that moment his spring campaign could have ended right there. Too much risk at the wrong moment — especially against a Pidcock who descends like he’s blindfolded. The Brit went on alone, but would not win the gravel classic.

That patch of road outside Siena—reached via gravel climbs and narrow Tuscan tracks — has become almost sacred. Fans still visit, some leaving flowers or messages. The plaque bearing “Tadej Pogacar was here” has become a humble memorial — a quiet tribute to the rider who fell, rose, and against all odds, claimed victory. In Tuscany, it’s still spoken of as nothing less than a miracle.

And otherwise that sign in the bushes did the trick. "Tadej Pogacar was here".

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])