Pogacar made a series of mistakes that quite literally threw away his chance at winning Milan Sanremo 2025, despite being clearly the strongest rider in the race today.
The first mistake was positioning before the Cipressa, where the entire UAE team completely faltered. Wellens was pulling at the front for the world champion, with all the big contenders in the top spots: Van der Poel in third, Ganna in fifth. Reviewing the race replay, I confirmed that Pogacar was incredibly sitting in 24th position, isolated, with no teammates nearby. Wellens kept turning around to check what was happening, but there was no sign of the Slovenian. Pogacar was forced to climb back up about twenty positions on his own during the Cipressa: an achievement only a superstar could manage, yes, but one that inevitably cost him precious energy.
Energy that Narvaez also had to waste, as he was even further back and had to pull off an even more impressive comeback to get back to the front.
On the Cipressa climb, Pogacar showcased extraordinary power, putting Van der Poel under real pressure. Perhaps, had he saved that little extra energy lost in the earlier chase, he would have found those crucial few meters needed to drop the Dutchman.
Despite that, he still had the Poggio to try and win it all, but he completely misjudged the strategy there too. He launched an attack immediately, in the first meters of the Poggio climb, when the gradient is still shallow, speeds are around 45 km/h, and you have to brake to negotiate the first three hairpins — perfect terrain for a pure sprinter like Van der Poel. You simply can’t attack your main rival right on his ideal ground. Pogacar should have waited at least halfway up the Poggio before making his move.
The second mistake was continuing to set the pace on the Poggio. It almost looked like he was racing for second place: dragging Van der Poel with him while dropping Ganna made no sense at all — it was like handing the win to the Dutchman.
It would have been wiser to ease up and try again later. Even if Ganna had remained in the group, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. At the summit, Pogacar was already drained, and instead of being able to attack where it mattered, he had to defend himself against Van der Poel’s devastating surge.
The final mistake came in the sprint. Ganna had just rejoined them and was clearly exhausted. Pogacar should have focused solely on Van der Poel, but instead, he sprinted as if Ganna were still a threat, ending up third behind him — and with all due respect, after that enormous effort, Ganna simply didn’t have the legs anymore.
In my opinion, Pogacar once again proved he was the strongest rider today, but he paid dearly for some crucial tactical mistakes that wiped out his athletic superiority.
Van der Poel seemed on another level, not for his power, but for his intelligence: he managed every pedal stroke with class, first wisely relying on Ganna’s engine to stay in the race, then never panicking as the chasers closed in. He let the world champion waste all his extra energy until he could beat him.
And beating someone stronger than you is always a masterpiece.
