Not Tadej Pogacar, not Primoz Roglic - instead Matej Mohoric continued the Slovenian success story in cycling.

The 27-year-old surprisingly clinched victory at the 113th spring classic Milan-Sanremo after 293 kilometers on the Via Roma and stole the show from the big favorites.

After a daring attack on the Poggio descent, Mohoric saved a two-second lead over Frenchman Anthony Turgis and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel.

The German drivers didn't matter, especially since former winner John Degenkolb and classics specialist Maximilian Schachmann had to sit out.

After his coup, Mohoric lifted the racing machine.

Pogacar also gave his compatriot an appreciative pat on the shoulder.

The Tour Champion was fifth, Belgian Wout van Aert had to settle for ninth place.

The two superstars hadn't given each other a meter in the final, which played into Mohoric's cards.

"After the Poggio I went 'all in'.

I can't believe it," said Mohoric, who had planned the win in winter: "This race suits me and has a descent at the end.

I knew I had a chance if I didn't get left behind at Poggio.

I practiced the descent beforehand.

We had this plan for a long time.”

Pogacar, who has won both the Tirreno-Adriatico and UAE Tour this season and the Strade Bianche gravel race, failed to launch one of his dreaded attacks this time.

This was ensured by the strong Dutch Jumbo Visma team around van Aert and Roglic, which kept the pace extremely high on the Cipressa - the penultimate climb.

This also ensured that many sprinters like Fabio Jakobsen (Netherlands) were left behind.

It was similar at Poggio, where Pogacar attacked again and again almost desperately and was brought back by the competition.

So the decision was only made on the descent.

Mohoric is no stranger to this.

The man from Kranj is considered a fast-paced driver who had already won two stages of the Tour last year.

Due to the outbreak of colds in cycling, many prominent names were absent from the starting line.

The French world champion Julian Alaphilippe, winner of 2019, the Italian European champion Sonny Colbrelli, last year's winner Jasper Stuyven (Belgium) and the sprint stars Caleb Ewan (Australia) and Sam Bennett (Iraland) all had to pass due to health reasons.

The experienced Roger Kluge said goodbye to the already small German fraction with only seven drivers in the middle of the race.

The former track cycling world champion started the race with a cold.

For a long time, however, the focus was on a breakaway group of eight, which had pulled away shortly after the start and was now seven minutes ahead of the field.

At Poggio, however, the attempt for the last escapees was over.