2013 Milan-San Remo, 17 March (298km)

[Samson777]

Not true, I often watch replays of Italy knocking out Germany in the 2006 world cup semi. One of the best games I think of all time. Apart from that I agree with you wholeheartedly. A great exciting unexpected result.

Manchester United-Real Madrid 4-3, in 2003, is also worth watching more than once. But yes very nice race today.

 

[El Pistolero]

Eating humble pie gets easier when at this early age you already have more wins than 98 % of your competitors. That boy goes home today ready to do better next time, not deflated at all.

Frank Vandenbroucke had 44 victories before turning 25 including Paris-Nice, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Gent-Wevelgem, Scheldeprijs, Omloop het Volk, Paris-Brussel, stages in the Vuelta and points jersey, etc

And he couldn't even sprint...

Let's be careful with predictions for the future, you never know how these talents will turn out in the long run. Just look at Andy Schleck!

 

[JRanton]

Agreed. Cancellara was obviously not strong enough but I think he will peak in RVV and PR. Sagan was naive, he got too caught up marking cancellara that he forgot about ciolek. Didn't his team warn him over the radio about ciolek's sprint? And for those saying that Sagan did a lot of work, I don't think he did as much as cancellara does to end up 2nd or 3rd.
Chavanel and stannard were very aggressive but perhaps they should have cooperated more. I dont understand what happened to EBH. Ever since last year's tour he has become a better climber but he couldn't get over the poggio well enough

Arvesen said before the race that Sky lacked a bit of power after coming off the altitude camp in Tenerife. I assume he was referring to EBH and not the other Sky riders...

I remember last year EBH went to an altitude camp in Nice and only two days later he got beaten by a third division rider in the Norwegian TT championship. Three days after that he recovered to win the Norwegian road race and went on to ride strongly at the Tour so I don't think his MSR performance is the end of the world for him. Having said that he still has it all to prove this year in Flanders and Roubaix.

 

[JRanton]

I'm not sure his domestique deluxe work and occasional minor classic win makes up for his salary. Sky pay him to deliver in the big Classics, and he just isn't delivering.

Yup, they have riders probably earning 15% of what EBH earns who are more than capable of performing the same role in grand tours.

 

[theyoungest]

Frank Vandenbroucke had 44 victories before turning 25 including Paris-Nice, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Gent-Wevelgem, Scheldeprijs, Omloop het Volk, Paris-Brussel, stages in the Vuelta and points jersey, etc

And he couldn't even sprint...

Let's be careful with predictions for the future, you never know how these talents will turn out in the long run. Just look at Andy Schleck!

Leave it up to El Pisti to come up with some unrelated Belgian rider. Of course Sagan could suddenly make a huge drop in performance, but that's not the most likely scenario.

 

[hektoren]

Did not see him do any really, maybe I just missed it. But the commentators on the channel I watched, said that he was suppose to be the SKY leader. If that is correct, it would also make sense that he did not work.

EBH suffered from the after-effects of a recent food-poisoning on Tenerife. Going into the race, he gave it a 50/50 chance of success.

 

[will10]

Just watched it on Youtube, one could cry - so happy for Ciolek, especially in these conditions.

The best indicator of how brutal that was was Puccio there with 3,5 km from the finish, crashing in the descent of the Poggio. Due to the cold and wet, he´s hardly able to walk and get back on his bike, moving like a drunk. That gives a hint of how hard it was.

What a race. San Remo again proved to be so hard to predict.

That was more to do with cleats than anything IMO.

 

[jens_attacks]

That was more to do with cleats than anything IMO.

to me it looked like his hands were frozen

 

[HiCadence]

Do we know what the average riding temperature was?

 

[maltiv]

EBH suffered from the after-effects of a recent food-poisoning on Tenerife. Going into the race, he gave it a 50/50 chance of success.

There's always something with him. Would be more of a surprise if he didn't have stomach problems going into a big race

 

[JRanton]

There's always something with him. Would be more of a surprise if he didn't have stomach problems going into a big race

And then just about when you're about to completely give up on him he'll perform extremely impressively. Ouest-France and Worlds last year for example. Not a rider I would ever be comfortable betting on!

 

[greenedge]

Congrats to Ciolek, that was an amazing conclusion.

I thought Goss could have been up there too- but maybe next year.
Great rides by the top 7, especially Chavanel- who i would love to have him win a monument this year.
Nice ride by Rosa too.

 

[movingtarget]

Agree, especially with the bolded. Personally I would have preferred to see Sagan take the win. But it was still a great day of racing, and Ciolek played the race perfectly and fully deserved that win. Ciolek being a rider for the first African cycling team makes his win even better too IMO.

And I think this could make Sagan even hungrier and more determined to get a win in RVV as well.

Hard to believe Sagan did not know who Ciolek was. But when he looked across he looked like he was in agony and could not believe he was beaten. He has probably seen him in sprints often enough. Magnus Backstedt called Ciolek the winner a long way from the finish. He was sitting on the front group while Sagan was closing all the gaps or most of them. Sagan went a bit too early but would it have made a difference ? Ciolek was fresh and has always been a decent sprinter. Good sprint by Cancellara as well. Mighty rides also by Chavanel, Phinney and Stannard. Not sure what Gilbert was doing. Whatever it was it failed. Maybe he was not confident of winning a sprint and never had the legs anyway.

 

[King Boonen]

Brilliant race, reminded me of Goss's win. Played it perfectly and got his reward.

What a great day for African cycling too.


On the subject of Sagan, he needs to learn a bit more tactics. He ended up leading everyone out and paid the price for focusing on Spartacus, he'll get his monument soon.

Great ride from Stannard, the kind of ride that makes you think Paris-Roubaix is a real possibility in his future.

 

[maltiv]

Hard to believe Sagan did not know who Ciolek was. But when he looked across he looked like he was in agony and could not believe he was beaten. He has probably seen him in sprints often enough. Magnus Backstedt called Ciolek the winner a long way from the finish. He was sitting on the front group while Sagan was closing all the gaps or most of them. Sagan went a bit too early but would it have made a difference ? Ciolek was fresh and has always been a decent sprinter. Good sprint by Cancellara as well. Mighty rides also by Chavanel, Phinney and Stannard. Not sure what Gilbert was doing. Whatever it was it failed. Maybe he was not confident of winning a sprint and never had the legs anyway.

Sagan's loss was a combination of too much confidence and of getting enemies in the peloton (Cancellara).

Who knows, maybe Sagan would've won M-SR yesterday if he had cooperated with Cancellara on stage 1 of TDF last year...

 

[theyoungest]

And then just about when you're about to completely give up on him he'll perform extremely impressively. Ouest-France and Worlds last year for example. Not a rider I would ever be comfortable betting on!

It's quite simple really. If the race is not too hard and not too long he'll be there in the final. Otherwise he'll fade away.

 

[Panda Claws]

Hard to believe Sagan did not know who Ciolek was. But when he looked across he looked like he was in agony and could not believe he was beaten. He has probably seen him in sprints often enough. Magnus Backstedt called Ciolek the winner a long way from the finish. He was sitting on the front group while Sagan was closing all the gaps or most of them. Sagan went a bit too early but would it have made a difference ? Ciolek was fresh and has always been a decent sprinter. Good sprint by Cancellara as well. Mighty rides also by Chavanel, Phinney and Stannard. Not sure what Gilbert was doing. Whatever it was it failed. Maybe he was not confident of winning a sprint and never had the legs anyway.

Gilbert expressed discontent that the group of 9 after the Cipressa did not co-operate. I guess he and Roelandts then expended too much energy by trying to close the gap to Chavanel, Stannard and Vorganov.

 

[King Boonen]

Gilbert expressed discontent that the group of 9 after the Cipressa did not co-operate. I guess he and Roelandts then expended too much energy by trying to close the gap to Chavanel, Stannard and Vorganov.

Yeah, he can complain all he wants but would you work in a group that contained Gilbert and Roelandts to pull them up to Chavanel and Stannard for the start of the Poggio?

 

[JRanton]

It's quite simple really. If the race is not too hard and not too long he'll be there in the final. Otherwise he'll fade away.

It does seem that way, yes. His Roubaix implosion last year with 20km (?) to go was a big red flag and he was also completely dead in the group sprint for 4th at Flanders.

 

[Hawkwood]

I'm sure they'll **** off Chavanel, Terpstra, Vandenbergh and Boonen just to get Cav his support to get beaten in a sprint by AK.

He'll be undisputed leader for the Grand Tours, but outside those he isn't the top man.

When's Cav ever sprinted 100% when it's not for the win?

Anyway interesting quote here from Boonen on his MSR chances:

`Unlike Cavendish, though, Boonen said that he’s not comfortable with the thoughts of the very wet conditions that are predicted. “I prefer nice weather. I don't prefer the rain. Not at all,” he said. “If the weather will be like they say it is, five or six degrees and rain, it's going to be fifty percent of the riders that have been eliminated already.'

 

[Panda Claws]

Yeah, he can complain all he wants but would you work in a group that contained Gilbert and Roelandts to pull them up to Chavanel and Stannard for the start of the Poggio?

Gilbert and Roelandts were alone when they tried to get to Chavanel. At least get your facts straight.

 

[jens_attacks]

the extreme weather took its toll

slowest ascents of poggio and cipressa since decades ago

http://climbing-records.blogspot.ro/2013/03/san-remo-2013-tough-one.html

 

[King Boonen]

Gilbert and Roelandts were alone when they tried to get to Chavanel. At least get your facts straight.

Because Chavanel went off when the group wouldn't cooperate and then no-one, other than Roelandts, would help Gilbert so he had to try himself?

 

[personal]

A I see it, Cancellara wanted Sagan to lose and achieved it.
But he also lost, so it is not much of the satisfaction for him, I guess.

Canc did spring well, and was gaining on those in front of him in the last meters.

 

[El Pistolero]

Because Chavanel went off when the group wouldn't cooperate and then no-one, other than Roelandts, would help Gilbert so he had to try himself?

Gilbert said to Roelandts that it was useless to bridge to Chavanel and Stannard because they got help from the motor guys. He said they were at one point about 50 meters away from catching them, but decided to let the chasers behind them catch them. Phil said he made a mistake there and should have ridden on instead.