Milan - San Remo 2026: Pogacar bests Pidcock in two-up sprint

fotobureau Cor VosDespite a crash on the approach to the Cipressa, Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel tackle the Poggio alongside Tom Pidcock. The defending champion is soon dropped, on the climb. Pogacar goes all out, but cannot shake off Pidcock, but on the Via Roma in San Remo, he outsprints the Brit. (Slideshow route/profile)

Results 2026 Milan-San Remo

1. Tadej Pogacar (slo) 6:35:49
2. Tom Pidcock (gbr) s.t.
3. Wout van Aert (bel) + 0:04
4. Mads Pedersen (den) s.t.
5. Connor Swift (gbr) s.t.
6. Andrea Vendrame (ita) s.t.
7. Jasper Stuyven (bel) s.t.
8. Mathieu van der Poel (nld) s.t.
9. Matteo Trentin (ita) s.t.
10. Edoardo Zambanini (ita) s.t.

Race report
Breakaway riders Alexy Faure Prost, Martin Marcellusi, Manuele Tarozzi, Manlio Moro, Andrea Peron, David Lozano, Dario Igor Belletta, Mirco Maestri and Lorenzo Milesi quickly build a 4-minute lead. Then Alpecin-Deceuninck in the person of Dillier takes control in the peloton.

The main news in the opening hour and a half is that Jan Christen, a teammate of Tadej Pogačar, has abandoned the race.

By the time they reach the Mediterranean coast, the breakaway’s lead has been halved. After that, the gap goes out to nearly 7 minutes. With 80 kilometres remaining, UAE Team Emirates takes over the chase from Dillier.

Tadej Pogacar hits the deck on the approach to the Cipressa. Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson are also involved. The reigning champion regains contact ahead of the climb.

Early on the Cipressa, Lorenzo Milesi, Dario Igor Belletta and Mirco Maestri are the last attackers to be reeled in. A little later, Pogacar returns to the back of the peloton.

He moves straight to the front of the race, where Brandon McNulty and then Isaac del Toro provide the lead-out for him. With 2.5 kilometres to the top, Pogacar takes over. He immediately opens a gap, and only Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel are able to follow.

The three reach the summit 25 seconds ahead of the first chasers and that's down to 8 as they hit the Poggio. Van der Poel loses contact on the early slopes and he drops back to the chasers, although it quickly becomes clear that group is no longer in contention for the win.

Tadej Pogacar throws everything at it to get rid off Tom Pidcock, but can't. He is unable to drop him on the descent either, so it comes down to a sprint finish on the Via Roma.

Pogacar launches the sprint from the front and holds on, although Pidcock draws level, the Slovene gets his wheel across the line first. Van Aert finishes third to round out the podium.

Other interesting reads: route and start list 2026 Milan-San Remo.