March 17th 2012 Milan-Sanremo - The Primavera - 298km

[will10]

Fleche is exciting for 5 minutes, San Remo is exciting for at least 20 minutes.

 

[Duartista]

Yeah, Fleche arguably represents the worst of modern cycling. I think they have changed the final circuit this year, but I don't know if it will make much difference.

 

[virandociclista]

But my intention was not to troll the thread (I'm not the polish =p)..

I would like just to know what is the magic of this race that you gus is so excited.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Indeed, FW is a bad example, one big uphill sprint.

I used to like AGR a lot when they started attacking on the Eyserbosweg and it didn't stop until the finish, but even there they wait till the Keutenberg and Cauberg now. And LBL the same, they used to attack on La Redoute, now they wait until Roche Aux Faucons or even Saint Nicolas...

Now the most exciting races the last few years in terms of classics were Flanders and Roubaix. But I wonder if the new finale of Flanders doesn't bore the race out (eg, favorites start waiting longer just like in agr / lbl)

 

[Duartista]

I would like just to know what is the magic of this race that you gus is so excited.

What makes it unusual is that you get very different types of riders - e.g. Nibali, Cancellara, and Goss - competing for the win.

 

[Froome19]

I will watch this race as I watch all the other flat races.. Ok.. I watch all the cycling races..

But I did not understand why the people have so much attention for this race. I try but I can not have the same feeling that I have before the real big races:

Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, FW, LBL, Lombardia.. etc.

Personally I think part of the excitement about MSR is that anything can happen anyone can win. In no other classic will you see Nibali and Cav competing, both for the win.
BTW you dont need to write them out we can all read your signature.

 

[virandociclista]

one of the reasons that I was thinking that is possible to make this race exited is this that you guys are saying.. the possibility of diff types of riders win it.

another thing that I was thinking is just to see who is really good at the moment.. there is no excuses in a classic. like some other guy wrote in another post... we wait to see if our prefered rider got dropped or not...

like I said I do not want to troll the thread.. just want to learn more. thanks for the replies

 

[TourOfSardinia]

But my intention was not to troll the thread (I'm not the polish =p)..

I would like just to know what is the magic of this race that you guys is so excited.

the magic is in the unfolding of the thing - it's mostly buffalo stampede where to go in a break is just suicide ... until ... until ... when?
The judging of the when you can get away and not be trampled down by the oncoming heard ... that is the fascination.
And many of the best riders are ready to try and fail - in full view - just for the chance of victory.
That repeated desperate chancing doesn't happen much in other races.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I will watch this race as I watch all the other flat races.. Ok.. I watch all the cycling races..

But I did not understand why the people have so much attention for this race. I try but I can not have the same feeling that I have before the real big races:

Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, FW, LBL, Lombardia.. etc.

msr is the real big race . a lot bigger than flanders for instance or fw and lombardia

 

[will10]

msr is the real big race . a lot bigger than flanders for instance or fw and lombardia

San Remo is not bigger than Flanders or Liege.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

San Remo is not bigger than Flanders or Liege.

I didn't say lbl

it's bigger than flanders for sure. simply look at the level of riders competing and the history of the race. I don't think you can find any one day race that has a better riderfield than msr other than maybe lbl and world championships and olympics. in flanders maybe 1 or 2 riders out of top 30 rankings take part.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Fleche is exciting for 5 minutes, San Remo is exciting for at least 20 minutes.

We have a cycling fan!

...

 

[ferryman]

MSR has been a bit of a slow burn for me but now I can't wait for it. As a previous poster has stated which other classic can you talk about where you have such a diverse set of riders who could potentially win. Nibs/Cunego/Di Luca, the climbers. EBH/Sagan/Gilbert/Cana/Boonen, the other classics guys and then you have the sprinters Goss/Greipel/Cavendish.

And then you have the wily old pro who is going to win it Freire

 

[Morbius]

I expect Cav to do well in MSR, which of course doesn't mean that he will win, just that he will go better than many people think.
There are two reasons why I think he has been training specifically for this race:
1) Winning MSR in the stripes is a career goal for Cav, not just a season goal. This race has been a target for him since September.
2) His other big target for this year is the Olympics, and both MSR and the Olympics will need Cav to be better on hills than he has been in his career so far. He has already said he will sacrifice a bit of his top speed this year to work on climbing and stamina to do well in the Olympics

The interesting question is who will set the pace on the Poggio, knowing that they are setting up others for the win. Nibali seems a possibility, in order to set up Sagan. I can't see someone like Cancellara setting the pace on the Poggio as he would just drag others to the finish.

 

[virandociclista]

I expect Cav to do well in MSR, which of course doesn't mean that he will win, just that he will go better than many people think.
There are two reasons why I think he has been training specifically for this race:
1) Winning MSR in the stripes is a career goal for Cav, not just a season goal. This race has been a target for him since September.
2) His other big target for this year is the Olympics, and both MSR and the Olympics will need Cav to be better on hills than he has been in his career so far. He has already said he will sacrifice a bit of his top speed this year to work on climbing and stamina to do well in the Olympics

The interesting question is who will set the pace on the Poggio, knowing that they are setting up others for the win. Nibali seems a possibility, in order to set up Sagan. I can't see someone like Cancellara setting the pace on the Poggio as he would just drag others to the finish.

and Cancellara already said that this year he will not burn his legs for the others. This year is not about the team, but about cancellara!

Ok guys. You give to me a lot of motives do see this race with other eyes. thanks.

 

[Eric8-A]

Can Kittel handle the distance to be competitive should the race end in a sprint?

I've always thought that Greipel was a bit top heavy for a race like this. But that changed when I read Goss saying that he can be a contender for the win.

 

[roundabout]

Can Kittel handle the distance to be competitive should the race end in a sprint?

I've always thought that Greipel was a bit top heavy for a race like this. But that changed when I read Goss saying that he can be a contender for the win.

Kittel isn't riding.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

What makes it unusual is that you get very different types of riders - e.g. Nibali, Cancellara, and Goss - competing for the win.

More or less what many have said, and I agree. It is unpredictable in a way that many other classics aren't.

Unfortunately, I think I will have to miss any live coverage, which I'm disappointed about. Hopefully I can tap into some inspiration daydreaming about the race while I'm out Saturday morning.

 

[Eric8-A]

Everyday, I'm liking the idea of Nibali winning MSR more and more.

 

[palmerq]

I think it would be a miracle if that were to happen...

 

[movingtarget]

What makes it unusual is that you get very different types of riders - e.g. Nibali, Cancellara, and Goss - competing for the win.

Probably because the final climb is not hard enough to shed all of the sprinters who can also climb. GVA attacked last year but Goss still hung on. Freire regularly does it. I can't see Nibali getting away from Cancellara in this type of race. I think the length of the race also works in favour of the sprinters if they can conserve their energy for as long as possible.

 

[Swede1]

Probably because the final climb is not hard enough to shed all of the sprinters who can also climb. GVA attacked last year but Goss still hung on. Freire regularly does it. I can't see Nibali getting away from Cancellara in this type of race. I think the length of the race also works in favour of the sprinters if they can conserve their energy for as long as possible.

Nibali will never be able to stay away from cancellara once they get to the flatter part. Also, its generally a group of riders chasing, making it even more impossible. Yeah for some reason I dont really like nibbles.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

As much as I like the new and improved Nibali... on this course I'd rate even the chances of Guardini surviving the poggio higher than Nibali winning the race. Sorry nibbs

 

[the asian]

Who is leading Lampre? Pettachi and Cunego??

 

[FabulousCandelabra]

When I was still young and fresh to cycling, I thought MSR was a boring race.. I thought it was all about mountain top finishes.. but now I see the beauty of it.. Just takes some time to get used to. You can't chop 200km off of it, because then everyone would be fresh at the end! Although I guess it might be interesting to see all my favorites compete in a short 100km race? If it held the same value as a big classic... might be scary though! There must be a reason these races are so bloody long.