Pidcock metres from victory at Milan-san Remo
Ineos big-hitter attempts the impossible but gets caught by a baying bunch including eventual winner Jasper Phillpsen, writes Adam Becket
With 500m to go at Milan-san Remo on Saturday, Tom Pidcock was alone off the front, and within touching distance of a first Monument victory. Responding to a surge from Borahansgrohe’s Matteo Sobrero with just over one kilometre to go, the Ineos Grenadiers rider jumped clear and needed a moment’s hesitation from the riders behind to make his move stick.
The Brit was part of an elite front group of 12 riders which contained three current or former world champions, and four Monument winners, including last year’s winner, and the current world champion, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecindeceuninck). It was the Dutchman who proved decisive in shutting Pidcock’s late challenge down, pulling him back and setting up his team-mate Jasper Philipsen for the biggest one-day victory of his career. It was the first time a bona fide sprinter had won the race – which used to be known as one for fastmen – since Arnaud Démare in 2016.
The old adage about Milan-san Remo is that it’s the easiest race to finish yet the hardest to win, and this is what Pidcock found last weekend.
At just his third attempt, perhaps it is something that more experience will help with.
“I think it’s a really difficult final to get right,” Pidcock told Cyclingnews after crossing the line in San Remo. “Down the Poggio, it’s difficult to be in the perfect position. And then it’s also difficult to be too far forward or too far back.
“In this scenario, it didn’t really work out, what I did. But maybe in another year, then I could win. I didn’t really plan on anything, you know, in this final you just have to go with the instincts and that’s kind of the
“In this final you just have to go with your instincts”
best thing I can do. This is only the second one I finished. It’s a beautiful race and certainly one I want to try and win.”
Sprint finish
The group of 12 elite riders, which also counted among it Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-quick Step) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-trek), had been whittled down on the final tests of the Cipressa and Poggio, the latter the classic launch pad for many a victory. However, despite the best attempts of Pogačar in particular, no one could get away on the ascent or the descent of the final climb, making some kind of group finish inevitable.
Philipsen, who triumphed over Michael Matthews (Jayco-alula) and Pogačar in the sprint, revealed later that he had begged van der Poel not to work with Pogačar on the descent, as he knew he had “great legs”. “I have to thank him for what he did,” the Belgian said.
“I think he did a wonderful job bringing back all the attacks and keeping it back for a sprint. I probably wouldn’t have won without him. We can be so proud as a team to win Milan-san Remo twice.”