Pogacar's final link in Milan-Sanremo responds to missing lead-out role: "To keep fighting..."

On Saturday at Milan-Sanremo, it was business as usual, namely Pogacar, Pogacar, and yet more Pogacar. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates—XRG did everything he could to win the first La Primavera, but a very strong Mathieu van der Poel prevented him from doing so. The cycling world gave Pogacar an A for effort, but the UAE team did not execute Pogi's plan perfectly.

Let's return to Saturday for those who missed it - we can hardly imagine why. Before Milan-Sanremo started, everyone knew Pogacar would try to break away early. The men from UAE would set a furious pace on the Cipressa, after which the Slovenian world champion would try to break away solo. The big question was whether, and if so, who could follow Pogacar.

And so it happened. UAE kept its word, and Pogacar did what was expected of him. He put in a brutal acceleration early on the Cipressa, turning it into a thrilling final hour of racing. However, the critical observer noticed that Pogi had to cover a considerable part of the Cipressa, while Isaac Del Toro had not yet put his lead-out...

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Pogacar finished third on Saturday behind Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna

Gianetti and Zonneveld see where things went wrong, Del Toro responds

However, according to sports director Mauro Gianetti, the intention was for the Mexican to work hard at the front in Pogacar's service. Unfortunately for UAE, that idea did not work out. "Unfortunately, Del Toro was probably a bit stuck at the back of the peloton," said the Swiss sports director afterward. "This meant he could not fulfill his role as the lead-out man. Tadej then may have had to attack just a little too early."

Cycling journalist Thijs Zonneveld also saw that the absence of Del Toro on the Cipressa significantly impacted Pogacar's chances. "In an ideal scenario, they would like Del Toro to pull off a perfect lead-out after that and for Pogacar to go after seven minutes instead of after five. Then he'll be closer to the moment when he can ride away from Van der Poel," saw the Dutchman

What does Del Toro himself have to say about this? The Mexican reacted to the incident on Sunday via his Instagram page. "I will try not to miss the action next time," Del Toro laughed. "To keep fighting, the spirit of wanting to win must be shown everywhere," said the winner of Milan-Turin, who also wanted to thank his team. "Thank you for always being with me, and thank you for all the love. See you soon."  

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