50 years after taking his record seventh victory at Milan-San Remo, cycling great Eddy Merckx has told Tadej Pogačar to attack away on the Poggio, not the Cipressa, if he wants the best shot at finally reeling in La Classicissima on Saturday.
Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Merckx relived his glorious solo win from 1976, and commented on the greats of the modern day, noting how two-time winner Mathieu van der Poel is still the man most likely to deny Pogačar.
Pogačar has raced to the Via Roma five times, with results of 12th, fifth, fourth, third and third, lighting up both the iconic Cipressa and Poggio climbs on several occasions. But he's always been chased down by the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider or unable to get a big enough gap on the heavier Classics specialists to win solo, with a final sprint not suiting him.
Pre-race discussion is focussed on the Cipressa after he and UAE blew the race to pieces there last season, with only the Dutchman and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) able to follow, and while a repeat attempt is looking likely, Merckx still believes the final, 3.7km Poggio climb is his best route to success.
When La Gazzetta asked where he should attack this time, Merckx was clear: "On the Poggio," despite even Van der Poel admitting last week that "In the past, you shouldn't even start looking at the Cipressa, Tadej and UAE have certainly changed that," and that if was even "1% off" in 2025, he too would have been dropped.
"Even though he can break away from everyone on the Cipressa – last year only Van der Poel and Ganna were able to stay with him – and he's capable of long breakaways, but at San Remo, the chances of them catching you are increased," said Merckx.
"And if there were strong headwinds on the Cipressa, it would be very difficult to make a difference. Even though he's Tadej Pogacar."
Pogačar is also missing some firepower with UAE Team Emirates-XRG super domestiques Tim Wellens and Jhonatan Narváez both out due to injury, with the latter serving as last lead-out on last year's Cipressa assault.
While the World Champion stormed to another record-breaking solo victory at Strade Bianche at his season debut just more than a week ago, Van der Poel is also firing on all cylinders already, adding two hard-fought stage wins at Tirreno-Adriatico to his solo triumph at Omloop Nieuwsblad last month.
"This could be a good time for Pogacar if... he attacks at the right time. But the Van der Poel we saw at the Tirreno-Adriatico, thanks to his two stage wins and more, won't be easy to beat," added Merckx.
"Quite the opposite. Tadej must drop him, because after 300 kilometres on Via Roma, if they were still together... the favourite would be Mathieu. The long distance could be a friend to the Dutchman."
Pogačar is often compared to the Cannibal for returning cycling to an era of dominant solo performances unseen since the likes of Merckx and Fausto Coppi.
But while not wanting to spend too much time on the subject, the Belgian does see shared characteristics in himself and the Slovenian, especially in his career before his infamous crash at the Blois outdoor vélodrome in September 1969, which left him with back and hip issues for life.
"Yes, I don't see many differences. There were days when I won by a wide margin, like the 1969 Liège stage or the Tre Cime di Lavaredo stage of the 1968 Giro," he said.
"I see the same determination in Tadej. But let's stop there, because as you know, I don't like comparisons, especially when comparing different eras."
Pogačar is trying to do what Merckx achieved when he was just 21: win Milan-San Remo for the first time. It's an achievement which he still places above the seventh title he won on the Ligurian coast, as it kick-started his love affair with racing in Italy and winning all of cycling's biggest one-day races.
It's fair to say now that his modern counterpart probably won't match the feat of seven San Remo titles. But a win on Saturday would move Pogačar one step closer to success in all five of cycling's Monuments, with only Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy in that elite club so far.
