Tadej Pogacar lost hope after crash: "I thought it was all over"

He did it: Tadej Pogacar has added Milan-San Remo to his palmarès. And that after crashing on the approach to the Cipressa. "I don’t know what happened. When I fell, I thought for a moment: it’s all over," the Slovenian began his story in the post-race flash interview.

"I fell just before the most crucial moment of the race," he continued. "That’s not ideal. But fortunately, I was quickly back on the bike. There was little damage to myself and the bike. Just a little."

"Then I saw my teammates, Florian (Vermeersch) and Felix (Großschartner). They gave everything to get back to the front. They gave me hope again. The legs were still okay. Brandon (McNulty) and Isaac (Del Toro) did the rest on the Cipressa. If I hadn’t had my team today, I probably wouldn’t have climbed the Cipressa but instead would have gone straight for the finish."

Van der Poel and Pidcock
On the Cipressa, only Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel could hold Pogacar’s wheel. Then Van der Poel crashed on the Poggio. "When we turned around, I was very happy that everyone cooperated. We had a bit of a headwind. It wasn’t ideal, like last year. It was a bit tougher on the middle section. On the Poggio itself, the wind was actually better. I tried to go all-out. I hoped to go solo, but Tom Pidcock was very strong. Also, hats off to Mathieu. He rode a great race too."

In the end, Pogacar was left alone only with Pidcock. "Tom is very fast. He’s punchy, fast, and seems to be in good form. I was a bit scared when he forced me to lead. I waited as long as possible, but I also knew I couldn’t wait too long. He probably has a better punch than I do. It was very close. Hats off to him."