“Stay safe out there”: Pro cyclist harassed by tailgating drivers who “attempted to hit us” and “threw items out their car”; “He has no limits”: Eddy Merckx “speechless” at Tadej Pogačar’s stunning Milan-San Remo victory + more on the live blog

Some concerning footage filmed by US pro cyclist Luke Fetzer in southern California on Saturday, some aggressive tailgating and throwing of items out a passing car on display in the video.

 

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Luke explained how the convoy of drivers of a BMW and Corvette had driven aggressively close in the bike lane, thrown items out their cars and later “parked up the road, got out of their cars and attempted to hit us”.

“Beautiful Saturday out in SoCal, just trying to enjoy my first ride back home. If you recognise this BMW or the black and red Corvette in front, they both threw items out their car at me and a buddy,” he explained. “They then parked up the road, got out of their cars and attempted to hit us (and other cyclist) off our bikes by running into traffic and blocking the road.”

Fetzer noted under California law it is illegal to throw and object or substance at a vehicle or its occupants on a roadway, with punishments ranging up to three years in prison.

“Karma always has its way,” he suggested. “Stay safe out there.”

Such was the tailgating from the blue BMW, the rider behind Fetzer decided to bunny-hop out of the bike lane onto the pavement to get away from the driver, only for the driver to then launch a cup full of liquid on the way past. Fetzer hopes sharing pictures of the number plates will help bring about some form of positive action.

> Milan-Sanremo will be regarded as the pinnacle of the Pogačar era – and why cycling’s most dominant rider still inspires devotion

 

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Nobody’s complaining about Saturday being boring, right?

Even by Tadej Pogačar’s mind-bending standards, finally winning Milan-San Remo, coming back from a skinsuit-shredding crash on the approach to the Cipressa — which threw the UAE Team Emirates gameplan into the bin — getting back to the front, launching a typically thermonuclear attack, dropping Mathieu van der Poel on the Poggio, putting the pressure on Tom Pidcock on the descent, all before winning the sprint… Saturday was pretty special.

Tadej Pogačar has won Milano-Sanremo for the first time🔥 pic.twitter.com/9RHKcwNgbm

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) March 21, 2026

You could see the emotion in the world champion afterwards, perhaps mainly relief at not having to return to the race he joked many months ago might be the one that, trying to win, breaks him. It of course means Pogačar is a Paris-Roubaix success away from Monument immortality and Saturday’s performance will only have strengthened his claim to cycling’s ‘greatest of all time’ crown.

Speaking of which, Eddy Merckx admitted the Slovenian’s stunning San Remo success left him “speechless”, the Belgian great telling Eurosport afterwards that he didn’t expect Pogačar to be able to pull that off and the greatest rider of the modern era “has no limits”.

“He made me speechless,” Merckx reacted. “Did I expect him to win like that? Honestly, no. I think this can be considered one of his greatest performances. His reaction after that crash was that of a true champion. That Van der Poel would be dropped on the Poggio surprised me. The fact that Mathieu could not sustain his effort is really Pogačar’s merit.

“Pogačar deserved a San-Remo. It is now clear that he has no limits. What more does he still have to do?”

It could well be one and done at the opening Monument on the calendar, Pogačar more than hinting after his victory that he may well skip the race in future years.

“Maybe next year, I cheer from the TV or the side of the road,” he smiled.

Pidcock reported that’s what Pogačar had told him too, telling the TV interview afterwards that next year he’d have to do a bit more work to escape the bunch. “So, what motorbike am I going to have to sit behind?” the Brit joked, before admitting the main emotion was “disappointment” at having come so close.

Had Pogačar won solo with him second, Pidcock suggested he’d have found the result easier to digest, but, with the winning distance at four centimetres there’s always going to be a feeling of what could have been.

 

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We’ll leave the final word to long-time cycling journalist Neal Rogers who summed it all up rather nicely on Threads: “Been thinking about Tadej all day. Dude is just one of one. Better than all the Grand Tour riders, better than all the classics specialists. Hard to wrap your head around it. The best bike racer of his generation, likely of all time. Almost certain we will never see a rider like him again in our lifetime.”

> £85 Assos aero socks, Rapha and Santini hot-weather jerseys, plus more summer kit from Quoc and Madison

 

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Our weekly tech round-up starred Factor and Bugatti’s £18,0000 UCI-illegal collab, which unsurprisingly they reckon is the fastest bike in the world. We also had new shorts from Gobik, new shoes from Fizik and Giro, and a new bag from Apidura…

> Factor and Bugatti’s £18,0000 UCI-illegal collab is the “world’s fastest” road bike (so they say)… plus more tech from Gobik, Fizik, Apidura + more

On the news front, Megan brought us the story about a new bike rack in Oxford… which had only been in place for a week when it was already crashed into by a driver, prompting much local chatter.

There was also the news that Lambeth Council in London is to convert over 130 car parking spaces into e-bike bays, the local authority stating it’s a move to attempt to tackle bikes being abandoned on pavements.

And finally, we’ve got our latest competition up on the site now, so if you fancy being in with a chance of winning a year’s supply of energy products for your 2026 rides, check that out here.

The team with two title sponsors, five main sponsors, ten co-sponsors and 28 partners has added another commercial deal, Soudal-Quick Step welcoming Costa Coffee onboard as their 29th partner.

Fans of UK high streets and overpriced service stations rejoice, we’ve hit the big time. CEO of Soudal-Quick Step Jurgen Foré believes Costa’s “ability to deliver that coffee shop taste, wherever you are, fits perfectly with how our teams operate”.

Ethan Hayter’s Costa card is going to be overflowing with points by the time he returns to Britain…

 

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With Movistar announcing an impromptu Nairo Quintana press conference ahead of the Volta a Catalunya, it didn’t take Miss Marple to work out there might be a retirement announcement on the cards.

Last evening, the 36-year-old did indeed confirm he is stepping away from the sport at the end of the season.

“Today I look back… and I don’t just see results,” he said. “I see people. I want to thank every teammate, every staff member, every person who stood behind a race, a recovery, a difficult moment.”

The Colombian rider whose palmares includes the 2014 Giro d’Italia, 2016 Vuelta a España, three Tour de France stages, and a host of jaw-dropping climbing performances, says his retirement won’t be a farewell, but the start of something new.

“I’m speaking about a beginning,” he continued. “A new beginning where I want to keep building, create businesses, open opportunities, support both competitive and recreational sport, and give back to people — especially the younger generation — everything that cycling has given me.”

Quintana’s career was, of course, not without controversy. There was the sanction for a tramadol infringement at the 2022 Tour and doping raids during his time with Team Arkéa Samsic. It’s probably quite a safe bet that Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe won’t be invited to the retirement do…

> Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe delete “disgraceful” podcast section branding Nairo Quintana “a little rat” following backlash

Lotte Kopecky took her Monument tally to five with a first Milan-San Remo win. However, the women’s race was overshadowed by a shocking crash on one of the descents, Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi rider Debora Silvestri plunging over a roadside barrier and suffering a heavy impact on a driveway below.

Her team confirmed yesterday that she suffered broken ribs and a fracture to her shoulder.

A statement said: “After remaining hospitalised under medical supervision overnight, Debora Silvestri continues to evolve favourably. She is in good spirits and with the strength to face her recovery, and she will remain in the hospital in the coming hours to continue being monitored. The team’s medical staff trusts that her condition will continue to improve. From the team, we will continue to report on her progress. Both the cyclist and the team want to sincerely thank all the messages of support and encouragement received in the last hours.”

The crash footage has gone around the world and was shared widely on TV reports and news websites, viewer discretion is advised, it’s as heavy a crash as we’ve seen in a while.

La estremecedora caída de Debora Silvestri durante la #MilanoSanRemo femenina.

🙏 El LABORALKutxaTeam ha informado de que “se encuentra estable” tras ser atendida por los servicios médicos de carrera y de urgencias pic.twitter.com/gdkW9375Hu

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) March 21, 2026