"A small steering error can be fatal" - Dutch pundit on Pogacar, Van Aert and van der Poel's mass crash at Sanremo

It is no secret that Milano-Sanremo can be one of the most dangerous races on the calendar; not due to the roads themselves being dangerous, but due to the meaning of the race and the importance of a few key points. Crashes can happen at any moment and this year they have affected several of the main favourites such as Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout Van Aert...

"Everyone wants to position their team leader as well as possible before the Cipressa. When everyone is jostling for a good position, a small steering error can be fatal," Roxanne Knetemann said on the In het Wiel podcast.

That is exactly what happened with the Slovenian, who seemed to hit the deck first only a few kilometers away from the Cipressa alongside Soren Kragh Andersen. It was a high-speed crash that affected several of the main favourites for the race and had a huge impact on it - although somehow, the three men mentioned above managed to play a key role in the race nevertheless.

Pogacar made it back on the Cipressa, made the difference and then had a sprint against Tom Pidcock which led to one of his most spectacular and emotional wins in years. In his sixth participation he was able to win what is his fourth monument.

"That guy almost always arrives alone without being chased. The fact that he wins by such a small margin now must be really cool for him. He almost never experiences that," the Dutch pundit argues.

However according to himself and Tom Pidcock, there may not be a return (at least soon) to Sanremo. "This must have given him such a boost. Just because he has won once doesn't mean the second time will be easier. I would find it a shame if he doesn't come back".

It was a race however where all of the main protagonists had a say. Pidcock had an incredible performance on a race where he hasn't been able to perform in the past, almost taking his first monnument win: "How well Pidcock rode, how well that guy rode. I think 'he beats him in the sprint..."

Wout Van Aert, who managed to recover from the crash and a bike change; to then attacking the peloton in the finale and stealing the final spot on the podium: "You only get back into the race so late, and then you just launch an attack from that group with a kilometer and a half to go".

And Knetemann also mentioned Mads Pedersen, winner of the peloton sprint and fourth on the day on what was his first completed day of the season, following a set of injuries that could've taken him out of the entire spring campaign. "It was already a bizarre story that he started here at all, but that you can do this right away".