Beyond the Via Roma finish line of Milan-San Remo Women, Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) didn't know if she should celebrate or cry. After taking third in 2025, she finished second behind Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) but was within touching distance of victory.
Rüegg hugged and thanked all her EF Education-Oatly teammates as they finished and celebrated when she told them she finished second. There were smiles but also a sense that a career-defining victory was so close.
"Second in a Monument is incredible. I can't be disappointed with it," Rüegg told Cyclingnews.
"It's a huge, huge, huge team result. I was never alone in the race. Everyone was so committed from start to finish. No team did this better than us. I'm getting one step closer every year, so maybe next year."
Rüegg chased after Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech) when she attacked on the Poggio, joined by Kopecky and Eleonora Gasparrini and Dominika Włodarczyk (UAE Team ADQ).
"I think I feel stronger this year. The Cipressa was definitely harder than last year, but then the Poggio somehow wasn't," Rüegg explained.
"I found myself in a small group and it was really hard for me because they didn't know how far the others were back."
The five only had a lead of a few hundred metres on the descent of the Poggio but the chasers never caught them. Kopecky hit the front in the sprint, Rüegg started to come up alongside her but the finish came too soon.
"I think I should have started my sprint a bit earlier but when you're in the moment you don't really know what to do. So you just go with the flow. I was second but I'm super stoked," Rüegg said.
"Of course, when it's so close, then you also hope that it could have been a win but I'm satisfied. Lotte also deserves this win as well, so I'm super happy.
"I haven't won a lot of big races yet, so every podium is amazing and I think I'm still developing in my career. So second in a monument is big for me."
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