Pogačar animates Milano-Sanremo to take 5th

The climb of the Poggio was the place chosen by Tadej Pogačar to try to storm the Milano-Sanremo 2022.

After Polanc and Formolo kept the pace of the peloton on the Cipressa very high, from -8 km out the two-time winner of the Tour de France, escorted by Diego Ulissi, placed a series of attacks on the Poggio that blew open the group.

The favourites were able to counter, with Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) well supported by team mate Primoz Roglic and Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) also close on the wheels.

Pogačar’s latest attempt was a counterattack following a move by Soren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM).

There was no clear selection on the climb, so it was the descent that proved decisive: Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) made the most of his skills as a daredevil descender to gain a small advantage, but enough to make him cross the finish line with his arms held aloft.

Pogačar tried to revive the speed in the group of pursuers, but Mohoric was away, leaving fifth place for the captain of UAE Team Emirates.

Pogačar: “I’m happy: we showed a great team performance, racing proactively.
Congratulations to my teammates and congratulations to Matej Mohoric, he deserved the victory: before the race, he told me not to try to follow him downhill and I replied that I was aware that it would be very difficult to follow him, since I know that he is crazy when the road goes down and also having noticed that he had a seat post dropper to launch even better.

In fact, when he overtook me downhill, I saw that he was already taking big risks, drifting and even coming off the road, so I didn’t dare follow him.

What we have done today as a team is an excellent sign for the next races and for the Milan-Sanremo editions that we will race in the next few years. It was a very fun Classic.

Now three days of rest await me, then I’ll start preparing my next appointments ”.

Results

 
1. Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) 6h27’49 ”
2. Anthony Turgis (Total Energies) +2 ”
3. Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) s.t.
5. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.