Tadej Pogacar, the most decorated cyclist in recent years, and reigning World Champion and four-time Tour de France winner, has won the first Monument of the year, the Milan-San Remo, victorious in a duel with the British rider Tom Pidcock, who finished second, entering at the same time.
The 27-year-old Slovenian attacked with 22 km remaining of the 298 km race, and only Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel kept the pace, but Van der Poel was left behind and a late sprint from Wout Van Aert (who won the race in 2020) completed the podium, only four seconds later.
The Milan-San Remo was the first of the five monuments, the one-day races considered as the most gruelling and prestigious races of the cycling calendar, four of them taking place in the spring: Tour of Flanders (April 5), Paris-Roubaix (April 12), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (April 26), and after the summer, Il Lombardia (October 10). It was Pogacar's first victory at the Milan-San Remo, and now has won four of the Monuments, with only Paris-Roubaix left.