The impossible win just got more impossible. If you, like so many other cycling fans were blown away by Tadej Pogačar finally winning Milan-San Remo, well there’s more. How could there possibly be more to this story, you may be asking?
Already the way he won was remarkable. No, not because the world champ hit the deck. No, no just that he lost contact with the main group before the Cipressa. No, not because he somehow managed to catch back on, get to the front, and make the race-winning movie.
A win on a busted frame
What nobody realized at the time was that his Colnago was just as busted up as he was.
According to reporting from the Slovenian outlet Delo, per WielerFlits, Pogačar unknowingly rode the decisive part of the race on a damaged frame.
His mechanic, Boštjan Kavčnik, said that the issue became clear after the finish. “Only then did we notice he had raced the finale with a cracked frame,” he said. It sounds like one of the chainstays snapped slightly in the crash. “Somehow, it held together just long enough.”
If he had known, then what?
That raises an obvious question: would Pogačar have ridden the same way if he’d known? Kavčnik doesn’t think so. He suggested the world champion likely would have been far more cautious. Especially on the Poggio descent, where Pogačar attacked Tom Pidcock to his limit.
It’s a very fast, but technical downhill and Pogi was riding with one of the best descenders in the world. Any hesitation would have given the Brit an advantage that the Slovenian would not have been able to close.
In fact, if anything, the Team UAE Emirates rider pushed the Pinarello Q36.5 rider on the curves, even going to the front. There was no way the world champ was going to let the ‘cross and MTB star outgun him through the curves. Ignorance may have been an advantage. Had he known his bike was broken…
Getting to the front on the Cipressa
“It’s never good to crash,” Pogačar said in the post race interview. “It’s a horror going into Cipressa. Everyone needs to be at the front and the roads are so narrow.”
Thankfully, apart from a ripped-up skinsuit and, well, broken frame, everything else was fine. But initially, Pogi thought his race may be done.
“Your mind goes through all the things. My first thought was just that it’s over. I thought maybe I’d just go with the team car, or just go directly to San Remo.”
But the sight of his teammates, and all the work they’d put into this race, made…
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