March 21 (Reuters) - World champion Tadej Pogacar further cemented his place among cycling's greats when he beat Tom Pidcock by half a wheel to win the 298-km Milan–San Remo race for the first time on Saturday.
The 27-year-old Slovenian, who won his fourth Tour de France title last year, shook off a crash involving several riders during a climb that left him with torn shorts and scrapes on his leg to outwit Briton Pidcock in the final stretch.
Belgium's Wout van Aert, who was also involved in the crash 32km from the finish line, finished third after his attack in the last kilometre was foiled by Pidcock and Pogacar, who sped ahead of the peloton for a two-rider photo finish.
"Not the most beautiful because I'll be licking the wounds. But I'm just really happy to take the win," said Pogacar, who has now won four of the five "monuments", cycling's most prestigious one-day events, with Paris-Roubaix the exception.
"You never know after such a long race but I knew one thing, that Tom's a super fast guy. He looked super good through all the race," twice world champion Pogacar added.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
