2014 Milan-San Remo, Mar 23rd (294 Km)

[William H]

Paolini did for Kristoff what Hincapie did for Cav.

 

[postmanhat]

Anyone think Puccio had his a bit of breaktrough race?

Worked hard for last 20km for Swift and then still managed to get 12th. He did great in Strade Bianche too.

Finally looking to live up to his early results as youngster.

Good work by him, but Swift did at least as much, if not more in the last 30k. The switch seemed to come to come in the last 10k when it became clear Eddy bos was out of it.

Swifty could have won this if he hadn't done so much already. As it was, he did an amazing job in coming from the back and around the group at the end. Sky's bizzare decision to omit Stannard may have cost them their first monument as he could have done a Paolini role and so much more in this race.

Fantastic to see Swift riding so well again

 

[wayahead]

Todays fail of Sagan has nothing to do with tactics or the mental pressure on him to win the first Monument. He just does not have the lags for races >250 km yet.
In AGR and MSR 2012 he was not marked and he could relax in peloton. Last year MSR was considerebly shorten.

Last year in AGR he was in the top form ( 4 days after brutal win in Brabantse Pijl ) but he finished out of gas in the finale.

No tragedy he is still so young.

Good point but questionable evidence.

1. Please what is the difference in handling 250+ distance between being marked and not-being marked? Distance is distance.. or am I missing something important?
2. AGR '12 - he was heavily marked man already (after 4th at MSR and 5th at R-W and victory in Chieti T-A).
3. AGR '13 - Sagan reported cramps, Gilbert: "...I saw that Sagan was looking very sweaty and his face was streaked with salt with about 50 kilometers to go, and I knew he wasn't on a good day" - apparently problems with hydration, or maybe he simply lost his form after Brabantse Pijl - peaking way too long.
4. What about WC '13, RvV '13?

But I suggest he simply lose his kick after such a distance whilst others (like Kristoff) don't, so he'd better not rely on sprint against the likes.

 

[greenedge]

Congrats to Kristoff!

I really wanted someone to go with Nibali, but nevertheless it was an exciting race.

 

[Afrank]

Strong sprint and a very nice win for Kristoff. Congrats to him. Again MSR won by someone that isn't a really big name/favorite being mentioned by a lot of people.

Nice attack by Nibali as well, just too bad some of the other guys that would benefit from a break surviving didn't come with him.

 

[jaylew]

So that's three 2nds and four straight podiums for Mr. Consistency Cancellara. I think that says alot given the fairly unpredictable nature of the race and the fact that in the last 6 editions there isn't one other rider who has finished on the podium more than once.

Also gives him 13 monument podiums to lead active* riders. By my calculations:

*Updated through Liège 2017*
Cancellara 16(7) - 5,5,6,0,0
Boonen 13(7) - 2,4,7,0,0
Gilbert 9(4) - 2,3,0,2,2
Valverde 9(4) - 0,0,0,7,2
Rodriguez 6(2) - 0,0,0,3,3
Rebellin 6(1) - 0,0,0,5,1
Van Avermaet 5(1) - 0,3,2,0,0
Ballan 5(1) - 0,2,3,0,0
Cunego 4(3) - 0,0,0,1,3
Martin 4(2) - 0,0,0,2,2
Pozzato 4(1) - 2,1,1,0,0
Sagan 4(1) - 2,2,0,0,0
Terpstra 4(1) - 0,2,2,0,0
Hushovd 4(0) - 2,0,2,0,0
F Schleck 4(0) - 0,0,0,3,1
S Sanchez 4(0) - 0,0,0,0,4
Kristoff 3(2) - 2,1,0,0,0
Degenkolb 3(2) - 1,0,2,0,0
Nibali 3(1) - 1,0,0,1,1
Kwiatkowski 3(1) - 1,0,0,2,0
Petacchi 3(1) - 3,0,0,0,0
Vanmarcke 3(0) - 0,2,1,0,0
Uran 3(0) - 0,0,0,0,3
Gerrans 2(2) - 1,0,0,1,0
Devolder 2(2) - 0,2,0,0,0
A Schleck 2(1) - 0,0,0,2,0
Nuyens 2(1) - 0,2,0,0,0
Basso 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Kolobnev 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Haussler 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Paolini 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Roelandts 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Costa 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Alaphilippe 2(0) - 1,0,0,1,0
Swift 2(0) - 2,0,0,0,0
Stybar 2(0) - 0,0,2,0,0



Yes, I was bored

*active as of my initial post

 

[The Barb]

Yes, I was bored

You should be bored more often. Thanks for posting.

 

[movingtarget]

Not sure what BMC were doing. Their tactics were all over the place in the remaining 10 kms. GVA attacks on the left hand side before the real sprint started and Gilbert reacts and then rides beside him. I wonder will Gilbert ever win another classic ? Great sprint by Kristoff. Why Cancellara waited for the sprint I will never know. He is a decent sprinter but the winner won easily. He gambled on his strength at the finish being good enough. Obviously frustrated over the last few years and tried something different. Still he and Swift also rode very well.

 

[Kazistuta]

Anyone think Puccio had his a bit of breaktrough race?

Worked hard for last 20km for Swift and then still managed to get 12th. He did great in Strade Bianche too.

Finally looking to live up to his early results as youngster.

Actually I seem to recall Puccio being up there last year as well, but he crashed on the descent from Poggio. That is where I first saw his ability to be up there for the MSR final.

 

[berkerstan]

Swift was boxed in the sprint, he managed to squeeze through a trek rider ( I think) that was blocking for Cancellera.

 

[djconnel]

Also gives him 13 monument podiums to lead active riders.

The "2nd is the first loser" crowd on these forums need to sit down and contemplate how absolutely incredible this record is, and to reflect on if they've accomplished anything remotely close to even getting on a single podium let alone 13. Fabian has every reason to feel more than pleased with what he did yesterday. That record is just amazing.

Nibali was obviously critical initially of Fabian for not going with him on Cipressa, ideally so Fabian could have had a remote chance to finish second to Nibali, rather than that Fabian took his chance in the sprint, finishing second to Kristoff.

I'm not sure how many in the lead group had the legs to follow Nibali, though. Sagan was an obvious candidate but said his legs were dead from the cold. Cannondale were setting a strong tempo there and Nibali put time on them very quickly once he decided to open the gap.

Anyway, that was an amazing race.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

So that's three 2nds and four straight podiums for Mr. Consistency Cancellara. I think that says alot given the fairly unpredictable nature of the race and the fact that in the last 6 editions there isn't one other rider who has finished on the podium more than once.

Also gives him 13 monument podiums to lead active riders. By my calculations:

Cancellara 13(6) - 5,3,5,0,0
Boonen 12(7) - 2,4,6,0,0
Gilbert 8(3) - 2,2,0,2,2
Rebellin 6(1) - 0,0,0,5,1
Rodriguez 5(2) - 0,0,0,2,3
Valverde 5(2) - 0,0,0,4,1
Ballan 5(1) - 0,2,3,0,0
Cunego 4(3) - 0,0,0,1,3
Pozzato 4(1) - 2,1,1,0,0
F Schleck 4(0) - 0,0,0,3,1
S Sanchez 4(0) - 0,0,0,0,4
Hushovd 4(0) - 2,0,2,0,0
Petacchi 3(1) - 3,0,0,0,0
Devolder 2(2) - 0,2,0,0,0
A Schleck 2(1) - 0,0,0,2,0
Martin 2(1) - 0,0,0,1,1
Nuyens 2(1) - 0,2,0,0,0
Uran 2(0) - 0,0,0,0,2
Basso 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Kolobnev 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Nibali 2(0) - 1,0,0,1,0
Sagan 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Haussler 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Paolini 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0

Yes, I was bored

This is great, thanks!
If you ever feel bored again, feel free to make one of the last 2 decades

Big chance Boonen and Cancellara's figures will go up quite a lot the next 4 years still.

 

[RedheadDane]

So that's three 2nds and four straight podiums for Mr. Consistency Cancellara. I think that says alot given the fairly unpredictable nature of the race and the fact that in the last 6 editions there isn't one other rider who has finished on the podium more than once.

Also gives him 13 monument podiums to lead active riders. By my calculations:

Cancellara 13(6) - 5,3,5,0,0

*Snipped*

Yes, I was bored

Okay, I figure that the bolded is number of podiums in monuments, while the number in the bracket is actual wins.
What's with the other numbers?

And yeah, I agree with previous statements that it's quite cool when you get bored!

 

[olopaine]

Okay, I figure that the bolded is number of podiums in monuments, while the number in the bracket is actual wins.
What's with the other numbers?

The podium placements monument by monument (MSR, RVV, PR, LBL, GdL).

 

[personal]

A lot of people are being too hard on Sagan. He was a bike length off Kristoff and hadn't started his sprint when Stybar took him out. Can't be sure whether he had the legs or not. Given that neither Cavendish, Greipel or Degenkolb won the sprint it suggests to me that tactics of not attacking were right.

Anyway, the main question is why was the podium music for Kristoff was "It's a Sin" by the Pet Shop Boys? Haven't heard that for many years.

Sagan was closed during sprint. That doesn't happen often to him, so it is probably because he was done anyway.

 

[djconnel]

I took Jaylew's numbers and put them in a blog post, adding the correlation matrix, which is interesting but not surprising. RVV correlates with PR, GdL correlates with LBL, MSR correlates with RVV and PR but not as strongly as they correlate with each other. So calendar proximity and course similarity each play important roles.

blog post

So that's three 2nds and four straight podiums for Mr. Consistency Cancellara. I think that says alot given the fairly unpredictable nature of the race and the fact that in the last 6 editions there isn't one other rider who has finished on the podium more than once.

Also gives him 13 monument podiums to lead active riders. By my calculations:

Cancellara 13(6) - 5,3,5,0,0
Boonen 12(7) - 2,4,6,0,0
Gilbert 8(3) - 2,2,0,2,2
Rebellin 6(1) - 0,0,0,5,1
Rodriguez 5(2) - 0,0,0,2,3
Valverde 5(2) - 0,0,0,4,1
Ballan 5(1) - 0,2,3,0,0
Cunego 4(3) - 0,0,0,1,3
Pozzato 4(1) - 2,1,1,0,0
F Schleck 4(0) - 0,0,0,3,1
S Sanchez 4(0) - 0,0,0,0,4
Hushovd 4(0) - 2,0,2,0,0
Petacchi 3(1) - 3,0,0,0,0
Devolder 2(2) - 0,2,0,0,0
A Schleck 2(1) - 0,0,0,2,0
Martin 2(1) - 0,0,0,1,1
Nuyens 2(1) - 0,2,0,0,0
Uran 2(0) - 0,0,0,0,2
Basso 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Kolobnev 2(0) - 0,0,0,1,1
Nibali 2(0) - 1,0,0,1,0
Sagan 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Haussler 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0
Paolini 2(0) - 1,1,0,0,0

Yes, I was bored

 

[veji11]

He was dissapointed, he tweeted a few hrs ago that "I know it was stupid to be alone at the front, but I expected someone to follow me; where are the old riders with the balls?".

I know it's easy to talk after the race but indeed many guys just waited and waited.

It reminds me of what happened last year in the Giro di Lombardia when Voeckler attacked : Right moment tactically, favourites (The Valverdes and Puritos in Lombardia, the Sagans, Cavs and Greipels in MSR) watching one another. Yet no one goes with them. Just plain silly.

In both those cases it was the right moment, and for riders in the "second tier" on the race, ie guys that can reach San Remo in tha group of 25 but lack the speed, or good climbers/punchers but without the explosivity of a Purito in Lombardia's case, it was a golden opportunity. But no, they all stay hidden.

Had a Chavanel, a Gilbert, one of the Skys or a Gallopin/Offredo gone with him, they had a chance. I wasn't a done deal in anyway, but they had a chance.

Really disappointed. On the last 2 monuments I found myself screaming in front of the TV because of the tactical ineptitude of today's riders. I mean it isn't a question of balls or romanticism, no just of tactical acumen... Lot's of them are just plain dumb.. A Gilbert won everything in 2011 with brute force, but when has he shown tactical wit in the last few years ?? Really a shame.

 

[Netserk]

That's because many riders prefer to play it safe for the chance of a top-10, instead of putting it all on the line for the win.

 

[veji11]

That's because many riders prefer to play it safe for the chance of a top-10, instead of putting it all on the line for the win.

The crazy thing is, it's sort of understandable if you are still A 25 year old Gallopin, or something like this. But a Gilbert ? Riders who have already experienced winning at a high level AND have already got those 6 to 15 places and don't really need them anymore ?

I mean I remember last year after the Lombardia, Voeckler said he had very good legs but knew that waiting for the last climb, he wouldn't have the kick to follow a Purito, and would have ended up 5/10 or so, and that what he wants now that his carreer is getting to the end is to win one monument, not get another 5th place.

A Gilbert, a Nordhaug, a Chavanel.. These guys have already won or got placings in a monument, and they knew they weren't going to win in a bunch sprint but waited for the very very hypothetical opportunity of the Poggio being rode slowly enough that they could attack.. really ? A shame really.

 

[Netserk]

I absolutely agree, but that's how it is Riders have to score those damn points.

 

[djconnel]

Gilbert thought his best chance was a long attach to "surprise the sprinters". But his rear wheel slipped and he lost his momentum. If you don't have the legs for an attack from Cipressa, you don't have the legs. The cold is a huge factor.

 

[Viskovitz]

It's pretty much self-explanatory.

 

[Netserk]

It's funny that the 50% rule has had the single biggest impact.

 

[ILovecycling]

Just really "interesting" race.When I saw Nibali to attack,then De Marchi drilling it with Sagan on his back,it was really entertaining,the Poggio was a bad part,no do or die attacks,its a shame.
I dont believe in this points fairy tail.Really good riders doesnt need points (the top10favourite me thinks)they have so many point every season.
Kristoff - wow great classics sprinter
Cav-admire him
Cancellara - incredible consistency,one in a million
Sagan - uhm,maybe he should really more on hills?or i dont know,we will see at cobbles,its too soon