The difference, after six and a half hours, was a fraction of a second. Only a bike throw could separate Tadej Pogačar and Tom Pidcock at Milan-San Remo, and the Briton, having held the world champion so masterfully on a leash, finished a rim’s width short.
Pidcock’s feeling in the aftermath was bittersweetness. He told reporters in the mixed zone that he was “pretty disappointed”, but nonetheless proud of his ride: “What I did was quite amazing,” he said.
