Failed attacks on the Cipressa and a massive crash on the descent indicated that Milan-San Remo would end in a reduced bunch sprint, but a group of five broke away near the top of the Poggio and rode to the finish together. Lotte Kopecky sprinted ahead of her breakmates to take an incredible victory for SD Worx-Protime, with Noemi Rüegg of EF Education-Oatly sprinting to second, and Eleonora Gasparrini (UAE Team ADQ) third.
[race_result id=12235 stage_id=0 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]
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Kopecky added another Monument to her tally
How it happened
- An early breakaway of over nine riders gained an advantage of four minutes, but as the race passed the early trio of climbs – the Capo Mele, Capo Cervo, and Capo Berta – the gap tumbled. When the group got to the top of the Capo Berta, they had less than 20 seconds' advantage on the chasing peloton.
- The pace of the peloton was so fast that riders started to lose contact with the back of the bunch, as the breakaway was cut down to only three riders. They were finally caught with 31.5 km remaining, a little under 5 km from the base of the Cipressa.
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The final breakaway riders are caught by the peloton