Change in route for Milan-San Remo??

[dlwssonic]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/route-changes-for-2013-milan-san-remo

It seems that they really want to make a big change this time. This might really become no more of a sprinters classic and it will become much more exciting. With the finish below the poggio the strongest will win. The Italian organisers must be loving Gilbert a lot This race will now be much suited for him or guys like cancellara with accelerations up the hill and good descending skills. I think I really like this route change. This will however change the big tradition of it being a race for the sprinters. See what cav has to say about it It will be nearly impossible for the pure sprinters to win MSR now, instead it will favour puncheurs much more.

 

[Eshnar]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/route-changes-for-2013-milan-san-remo

It seems that they really want to make a big change this time. This might really become no more of a sprinters classic and it will become much more exciting. With the finish below the poggio the strongest will win. The Italian organisers must be loving Gilbert a lot This race will now be much suited for him or guys like cancellara with accelerations up the hill and good descending skills. I think I really like this route change. This will however change the big tradition of it being a race for the sprinters. See what cav has to say about it It will be nearly impossible for the pure sprinters to win MSR now, instead it will favour puncheurs much more.

I don't know what they're going to do (to make it harder is ok, but imho pulling back the finish to the bottom of the Poggio is already enough), but this sentence is awesome

"But a race that doesn't give an attacker the chance to finish it off alone is not a race anymore. We'll have to modify it, to make it a bit harder."

This goes straight into my signature.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

While I think some changes easily could be made with the purpose of making the race more exciting, I don't really like it. MSR is traditionally a sprinters classic and that's the way it should be. We've got LBL and GdL for the puncheurs.

 

[dlwssonic]

I don't know what they're going to do (to make it harder is ok, but imho pulling back the finish to the bottom of the Poggio is already enough), but this sentence is awesome

This goes straight into my signature.

Sounds to me like he is saying a race without a uphill finish or without hills or cobbles isn't a race. he should tell that to cav.

 

[dlwssonic]

While I think some changes easily could be made with the purpose of making the race more exciting, I don't really like it. MSR is traditionally a sprinters classic and that's the way it should be. We've got LBL and GdL for the puncheurs.

RVV too is becoming a classic for puncheurs.

 

[Eshnar]

Sounds to me like he is saying a race without a uphill finish or without hills or cobbles isn't a race. he should tell that to cav.

No, he's saying that a race without the chance for a solo attack isn't a race.
Just a little bump in the end can do it (like the Poggio). That doesn't mean he doesn't want to see bunch sprints at all. But sprinters have to earn them. It's a bit like we were all saying after the Worlds.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

RVV too is becoming a classic for puncheurs.

I think that's a bit too early to tell. Let's wait and see

 

[jens_attacks]

While I think some changes easily could be made with the purpose of making the race more exciting, I don't really like it. MSR is traditionally a sprinters classic and that's the way it should be. We've got LBL and GdL for the puncheurs.

exactly.
and poggio is enough for the attackers if they go full-gas on the climb.fondriest did it,furlan did it,bettini did it,hell gerrans did it too.i don't want san remo to be transformed in a lombardia which changes routes every year.i would agree though to make it 40 kms longer.

i know italians are emotional and want nibali to take it if they put the finish straight after the descend but don't forget...i didn't see vincenzo that comfortably there.

 

[Eshnar]

exactly.
and poggio is enough for the attackers if they go full-gas on the climb.fondriest did it,furlan did it,bettini did it,hell gerrans did it too.i don't want san remo to be transformed in a lombardia which changes routes every year.i would agree though to make it 40 kms longer.

Not sure about Bettini, but the formers did it when the finish was in Via Roma (closer to the descent).
Gerrans didn't, btw. Cancellara did.

 

[jens_attacks]

well i'd watch the race anyway.but cipressa and poggio should stay.via roma indeed would be way better.

 

[Eshnar]

well i'd watch the race anyway.but cipressa and poggio should stay.via roma indeed would be way better.

I was saying that indeed. It's not like they're gonna put a Mortirolo near Sanremo. They're talking about doing a harder road for the Cipressa. That's all.

 

[oldcrank]

Things are really getting silly now. On Sunday the forums
were abuzz with posters slamming Gerrans for "wheel
sucking" for eight kilometres, now the CyclingNews
story has upped it to ten kilometres! FabCan made
it to the front with 6.75 kilometres to go and for
much of the descent nobody was on his wheel.
Is FabCan an unworthy second place finisher
because he "wheel-sucked" for 292 km.?

 

[joe_papp]

Things are really getting silly now. On Sunday the forums
were abuzz with posters slamming Gerrans for "wheel
sucking" for eight kilometres, now the CyclingNews
story has upped it to ten kilometres! FabCan made
it to the front with 6.75 kilometres to go and for
much of the descent nobody was on his wheel.
Is FabCan an unworthy second place finisher
because he "wheel-sucked" for 292 km.?

+1.

The polemics are ***.

If they don't want to leave it as it is, then finish the race off closer to the Poggio - set it back to the 1992 course. That was pretty exciting: http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Top_20_Clsscs/top20Cl_15.htm.

What's wrong w/ having a Classic that favors the sprinters for once anyway? Stupid loudmouths complaining that Gerrans didn't "deserve" to win. Please. No one held a gun to Fabs' head and made him tow Gerrans and Nibali to the line.

 

[meat puppet]

meh, just putting the finish line back closer to the poggio is enough.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Let's just keeps things like they are now, shall we.

 

[Panda Claws]

This is ridiculous.


Not every race needs to be like AGR, FW, and so on.

Not every final needs to be very hard, not everything needs to end in a climb.

All it does now is favor very fast puncheurs like Pozzato.

 

[Lexman]

MSR for the best downhiller the next years, Salvoldelli might do a comeback perhaps...

 

[Benotti69]

If RCS are thinking of a change to favour Italians it is probably a financial consideration to keep Italians interested as it is Italian money that funds this race.

Races are being threatened due to lack of financial sponsors, this could be because Gerrans is not gonna make Italian sponsors of the race want to use him in and the image of him crossing the finish line to sell their product.

Saying that there are a lot of international(or non Italian iyp) sponsors of MSR, Festina, Skoda SuisseGas and FSA to name a few.

 

[pastronef]

http://gerard.cc/2012/03/19/msr2012/

Gerard Vroomen on Sanremo parcours changes

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Its not like its going to be a hilltop finish on the poggio. They're discussing two options from the sound of it: make the Cipressa a little steeper, and/or moving the finish closer to the descent.

I like the idea of making the Cipressa a little more difficult. You get some earlier drama as sprinters and their teams cover the pressure laid down by the teams of the strong men. Add in a little chase between the hills, and now your making it difficult, but not impossible, to bring home a bunch of 50+.

A descent finish will be too chaotic, imo. A few days ago, that last corner gobbled up a few riders. Imagine those riders' intensity flying around the switchbacks on the descent, with not much separating them from the lower roads and ocean.

 

[Echoes]

This might really become no more of a sprinters classic

It never was ...

This will however change the big tradition of it being a race for the sprinters.

LOL

MSR is traditionally a sprinters classic and that's the way it should be.

LOL ²

We've got LBL and GdL for the puncheurs.

Lombardy has a bigger tradition of bunch sprints than Sanremo. See 1983 and 1985 results ...

 

[meat puppet]

Okay, Echoes, you made your point by now. Do you want your messageboard seniority rare, medium or well done?

 

[ultimobici]

By moving the finish back to the 1992 one on the Via Roma it should encourage the puncheurs & rouleurs to chance their arm.

As it is now the finish is far enough from the finish to make it worth a team's while to keep it all together for the sprint. I seem to remember the reason for the change from the Via Roma was made as a result of roadworks a few years back and hasn't been changed back.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Steeper Cipressa sounds good to me. Leave the Poggio how it is, and finish on Via Roma. Makes it a bit harder, makes the Cipressa more realistic as a platform for attacking on (rather than just being the fulcrum for a secondary pointless break of the day), but doesn't fundamentally change the race, other than to let Echoes have a whine about people disrespecting the race by saying that sprinters can - and do - win it.

 

[joe_papp]

commentator's responsibility; 2008 MSR = satisfying; Wilcockson = c^nt

This is ridiculous.
Not every race needs to be like AGR, FW, and so on.
Not every final needs to be very hard, not everything needs to end in a climb...

+1,000,000...

I thought the finish to this year's race was exciting and very compelling. But then, the commentators have a responsibility to "make" the race interesting for the audience by injecting emotion into finale, while still calling it fairly. Whoever started the polemic suggesting Gerrans not to be a worthy winner is a ******, and an unsophisticated one at that.

Watch the last few mins of the 2008 RAI coverage of Milano San Remo if you want to hear exciting, emotive, encouraging commentary that leaves the audience feeling they've witnessed something spectacular, something "Classic" if you will: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvjpyadZ9dA (and you don't need to understand Italian to understand the sentiment, which is incredibly positive and satisfied and appreciative).

The "worst" though was John Wilcockson tweeting after the finish of MSR on Saturday that he hadn't seen Gerrans shake the hand of Cancellara after the finish and the Australian was therefore being disrespectful: https://twitter.com/#!/johnwilcockson/status/181053234935365632 (as if JW is omniscient) Argh! What a ******! ...Fossilized rapidly-becoming-irrelevant "journo" trying to create drama and personal conflict where it didn't exist...

After someone called him out on it, he backpedaled and tried to make like he was so happy and satisfied and fakely cooed about how much of a "true gentleman" Gerrans was: https://twitter.com/#!/johnwilcockson/status/181111811465158658.

Perfect example of putz trying to ruin an otherwise fair and satisfying outcome.