“I thought: Wow, who is this kid?” - The story of the fan who bought Pogacar’s skinsuit from the Milan-Sanremo race at auction

Earlier this month, the skinsuit worn by Tadej Pogacar during his victory at Milano-Sanremo was sold at auction for an extraordinary €95,100. The proceeds went to the world champion’s charitable foundation, which raises funds for sick children and victims of natural disasters.

The winning bidder was American businessman and devoted Pogacar supporter Karl McDonell, who recently spoke about the purchase and his admiration for the Slovenian superstar.

McDonell admitted that cycling was not a major interest for him until Tour de France changed everything. In particular, it was the dramatic twentieth stage of that race that turned him into a fan. On that day, Pogacar overturned a deficit of nearly one minute to snatch overall victory from Primoz Roglic in one of the most memorable Grand Tour finales of recent years.

“I thought: ‘Wow, who is this kid?’” McDonell recalled to Domestique. From that moment on, he began following Pogacar’s career closely.

Although the auction attracted widespread attention, McDonell said he had no initial plans to bid. Only on the evening before Paris-Roubaix did he decide to submit an offer. Even then, he nearly forgot about it entirely as his attention shifted to the following day’s race.

“I was so focused on the race that I forgot I had placed a bid.”

Later, when he checked the result, he realised he had secured one of the most unique items of cycling memorabilia in recent memory: the damaged skinsuit Pogacar wore during his winning ride in Milano-Sanremo.

“When I looked later and realised I had won… that was very cool,” McDonell said. “It is in the same condition as that day. The race numbers and dirt are still on it, and the tears are still there. His teammates signed it.”

The condition of the garment adds to its story. Pogacar crashed during the closing stages of Milano-Sanremo before recovering to complete the victory, making the skinsuit a direct reminder of one of the season’s most dramatic Monument triumphs.

McDonell also revealed that this is not his first prized Pogacar item. He already owns one of the Slovenian’s white jerseys from the Tour de France, and hopes to expand his collection further in the future.

“I would like to help him and his foundation raise more money, especially here in the United States,” he said.

For McDonell, the purchase was about more than collecting memorabilia. It was a chance to own a piece of cycling history while supporting a cause linked to one of the sport’s biggest modern icons.