Newspapers see how Tadej Pogacar ends his obsession in San Remo
With a primal scream, he celebrated his victory in Milan-San Remo: Tadej Pogacar managed on Saturday to erase an important gap in his palmarès, after an incredibly thrilling finale full of plot twists and turns. The newspapers were full of praise for the Slovenian and his monumental achievement.
Looking at the Dutch-language newspapers, we see that De Telegraaf (“Tadej Pogacar finally claims Milan-San Remo”) and Algemeen Dagblad (“With eleven Monuments, Pogacar now equals Roger De Vlaeminck”) stick to the facts, but Het Nieuwsblad is more lyrical: “What a conclusion! What a fantastic race!”
For the real superlatives, we turn to the authoritative foreign papers, starting with L'Équipe. The French sports newspaper calls it a victory “achieved in a heroic manner.” “Tadej Pogacar, with torn shorts and grazes, raised his arms in the air as winner on the Via Roma, after an incredible finale. The two-time world champion showed remarkable resilience along the way.”
The Spanish newspaper AS does not hold back about the Slovenian cycling marvel. “After five years of trying, moments of frustration and disappointment, Tadej Pogacar is finally winner of Milan-San Remo. In a historic finale, Pogi overcame everything and everyone, including a crash, to beat Tom Pidcock in a grueling sprint that will forever be etched in cycling history.”
“The Poggio remained, a climb and descent with multiple possible scenarios, in a race full of unpredictable factors. The most unexpected twist so far, one we hadn’t seen in the past five years, did take place. Via Roma witnessed a memorable sprint. Pogacar has finally claimed the Monument he so desperately wanted to win. At last, he ended his obsession.”
La Gazzetta: “Historical justice has prevailed”
The Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport of course cannot be left out and also sings praise of the world champion. “Pogacar now runs a parallel race with the rider seen as the greatest of all time, Eddy Merckx. Historical justice has prevailed. Pogacar finally writes his name in the guestbook of Milan-San Remo.”
“That his name was not yet there seemed almost an administrative error. But, to correct that error, another moving performance was needed, after a crash and the tension of a sprint-à-deux. In his primal roar with clenched right fist immediately after the finish, lay all the liberating anger he had built up over recent years, with great attacks without happy endings.”
