Milano - Sanremo 2022, one day classic, March 19

[Zinoviev Letter]

Great win by Mohoric. MSR is truly a lottery.

The beauty of this race is the shallow hills. Pog tried like.. 4 times? But couldn't get a proper gap.

By making it tougher and adding more hills, you would make it less great and turn it into another Ardennes classics.

100% agree with all of this

 

[Nick2413]

I watched the last 30k silent with no commentary to try to really see it raw and it was a great finale. Mohoric was incredible and deserves the win and the moto pacing wasn’t really anything. Pog attacked 3 times and still took turns while the other big names just sat on. I think Wout took 1 turn total and MVdP declined his one and only turn at 1k to go when they could’ve still caught. Maybe they just had nothing left, fair.

The whole race from Cipressa on was a spectacle. I’m still a bit surprised Mohoric was able to get away even despite all the risks but he probably saved a lot by not attacking on the climbs. He’s a threat in any race and definitely has his ups and downs, kind of similar rider to Alaphillipe.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

The whole race from Cipressa on was a spectacle. I’m still a bit surprised Mohoric was able to get away even despite all the risks but he probably saved a lot by not attacking on the climbs. He’s a threat in any race and definitely has his ups and downs, kind of similar rider to Alaphillipe.

Watching the descent again, it’s not that surprising he got away. It was life risking descending. Pogacar was quite right to say no way pal and stop trying to follow. Incredible daring and bike handling, but probably not the sort of thing that we should want to see regularly.

It’s a bit like watching the Isle of Man TT in motorcycling, beautiful but not really justifiable as sport. He’s as good as it gets at this, but he really did come within a hair’s breadth of total disaster twice and was on the absolute edge throughout.

 

[Nick2413]

Watching the descent again, it’s not that surprising he got away. It was life risking descending. Pogacar was quite right to say no way pal and stop trying to follow. Incredible daring and bike handling, but probably not the sort of thing that we should want to see regularly.

It’s a bit like watching the Isle of Man TT in motorcycling, beautiful but not really justifiable as sport. He’s as good as it gets at this, but he really did come within a hair’s breadth of total disaster twice and was on the absolute edge throughout.

Is it safe to say the risks are the only reason he got away? I don’t really understand descents very well, it seems there were many riders known for being top tier descenders so shouldn’t riders have been able to stay on otherwise, especially with some draft effect? The way he just rode by Pog even on a relatively mild portion looked odd to me.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Is it safe to say the risks are the only reason he got away? I don’t really understand descents very well, it seems there were many riders known for being top tier descenders so shouldn’t riders have been able to stay on otherwise, especially with some draft effect? The way he just rode by Pog even on a relatively mild portion looked odd to me.

Well, the risks and the skill. He was going into each corner faster than everybody else, confident that he could find a line. Any draft effect might help a pursuer save energy, but you can still only go through corners at the speed your skill and nerve lets you.

 

[Pirazziattacks]

Watching the descent again, it’s not that surprising he got away. It was life risking descending. Pogacar was quite right to say no way pal and stop trying to follow. Incredible daring and bike handling, but probably not the sort of thing that we should want to see regularly.

It’s a bit like watching the Isle of Man TT in motorcycling, beautiful but not really justifiable as sport. He’s as good as it gets at this, but he really did come within a hair’s breadth of total disaster twice and was on the absolute edge throughout.

Mohoric quite literally rode into the gutter when he first went to the front and got away with it. Luckily there was only a slight drop off between the road and gutter.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Roglic attacked for himself. He could have saved that energy to work for Van Aert after the Poggio.

Roglic was dead. There was no working for Van Aert left for him. With a low-key attack he either forced others to react, or should they hesitate, Van Aert would be even more at an advantage should the chase eventually form.

The chance of Roglic winning with his attack was nearly non existent and it was his best bet to be of service to Van Aert and his team.

 

[Leinster]

Great win by Mohoric. MSR is truly a lottery.

The beauty of this race is the shallow hills. Pog tried like.. 4 times? But couldn't get a proper gap.

By making it tougher and adding more hills, you would make it less great and turn it into another Ardennes classics.

This. We already have Liege and Lombardia for the climbers. The great thing about MSR is exactly that so many riders can win it.

(Sprinters used to win GdL as well, back when the Ghisallo was the biggest climb and could be 50km from the finish, but nobody ever talks about that)

 

[Big Doopie]

(Sprinters used to win GdL as well, back when the Ghisallo was the biggest climb and could be 50km from the finish, but nobody ever talks about that)

when was this exactly?

 

[tobydawq]

Watching the descent again, it’s not that surprising he got away. It was life risking descending. Pogacar was quite right to say no way pal and stop trying to follow. Incredible daring and bike handling, but probably not the sort of thing that we should want to see regularly.

It’s a bit like watching the Isle of Man TT in motorcycling, beautiful but not really justifiable as sport. He’s as good as it gets at this, but he really did come within a hair’s breadth of total disaster twice and was on the absolute edge throughout.

He came close to crashing, he didn't come close to dying.

I have heard it used as an example more than once (by Geraint Thomas for example) that you don't want to risk everything usually on a descent, but it depends, and if you're alone down the Poggio, that's probably where you're most likely to go all in.

But it is too technical and shallow to be really dangerous, and if he had slipped in one of the corners where he was on the edge, he would have lost the race but probably just suffered minor injuries.

Finally, to quote another famous Slovenian: "No guts, no glory, uh".

 

[tobydawq]

when was this exactly?

I think it was around nineteen hundred and never.

 

[topt]

just watched it again; I think if MVP didnt help Wout, Andersen and Pog would have got away

 

[KZD]

just watched it again; I think if MVP didnt help Wout, Andersen and Pog would have got away

Maybe Mohoric would brought them back in the descent but yes maybe they would have fought for the win alone. Its a bit similar to last year, without his surge Alaphilippe and WVA could have been gone away on the Poggio too.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Just finished watching this and I really enjoyed the last 30k or so. Nice attempt by Pog to get away but with deadweight WVV hanging on it was always gonna be difficult. Mohoric, what a descent! Epic riding and deserving winner. Good to see MVP back, looking good for the rest of his season, hope his back holds out. Where in the hell were INEOS in this race, I see Kwia at one point then disappeared from screen. Bravo Mohoric.

 

[Salvarani]

Just finished watching this and I really enjoyed the last 30k or so. Nice attempt by Pog to get away but with deadweight WVV hanging on it was always gonna be difficult. Mohoric, what a descent! Epic riding and deserving winner. Good to see MVP back, looking good for the rest of his season, hope his back holds out. Where in the hell were INEOS in this race, I see Kwia at one point then disappeared from screen. Bravo Mohoric.

Their best classics rider Narvaez wasnt in the race, unfortunately.

 

[tobydawq]

Their best classics rider Narvaez wasnt in the race, unfortunately.

That's probably a temporary label, though. Pidcock and Hayter have a bigger potential but are not in very good shape.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

I was a bit surprised that Tadej attacked three times at the Poggio, and all three attacks were not successful. In the end, after Tadej‘s third attack, even DSM‘s Kragh Andersen was able to attack.

DSM are one of the most professional and stylish teams, with beautiful jerseys and bikes, but their strength rather seems to be compareable to Tarteletto-Isorex, for example (a really good CT team)… So Pogi probably wasn‘t at his best, yesterday, and Kragh Andersen apparently had a really good day.

 

[Red Rick]

Roglic has some (relative) "lows" during his usual seasons so his form in 2022 doesn't make me think something deeper is happening.

His 2021 season for example is littered with huge peaks & then some random no-shows like Liège last April (& Lombardia as well). He has a high baseline but his stratospheric peaks make his "normal" days or weeks look subpar by comparison. Even his first week in the Vuelta wasn't extraordinary (he never attacked on the first summit finishes or gapped anyone). He then proceeded to totally dominate in week 2 & 3.

I know he's 32, but considering he arrived late in the game I'm not ready to see that performance drop just yet & I certainly don't believe that's the case either.

It is also such a weird race for calling out a decline. He was following supwr hard attacks unit 3/4tha up the Poggio despite visibly wasting energy in places as early as the run into Capo Berta

 

[Red Rick]

That's probably a temporary label, though. Pidcock and Hayter have a bigger potential but are not in very good shape.

Hayter seems to hayte fighting for position which makes Sanremo a no go for him

 

[tobydawq]

Hayter seems to hayte fighting for position which makes Sanremo a no go for him

He has certainly been riding very strangely the first races of the season, sitting at the back most of the time.

 

[Ranagazoo]

Just reading through this thread and it's surprising how many moan about motor pacing. For a start, the moto if anything got in the way on the descent rather than giving Mohoric a tow, and secondly - would you rather not reward the riders taking risks to attack, instead of seeing a rider win a bunch sprint after spending all of 3 seconds with their nose in the wind?

As a smart man once said, no risk no glory

 

[tobydawq]

Just reading through this thread and it's surprising how many moan about motor pacing. For a start, the moto if anything got in the way on the descent rather than giving Mohoric a tow, and secondly - would you rather not reward the riders taking risks to attack, instead of seeing a rider win a bunch sprint after spending all of 3 seconds with their nose in the wind?

As a smart man once said, no risk no glory

I would rather the racing was not influenced by a moto. And I really don't see how the "no risk, no glory" line applies in a discussion about motos or not...

 

[Red Rick]

Just reading through this thread and it's surprising how many moan about motor pacing. For a start, the moto if anything got in the way on the descent rather than giving Mohoric a tow, and secondly - would you rather not reward the riders taking risks to attack, instead of seeing a rider win a bunch sprint after spending all of 3 seconds with their nose in the wind?

As a smart man once said, no risk no glory

Yes. I like when races dont get blatantly decised by motors.

I prefer Gerrans win over this one.

 

[samhocking]

He has certainly been riding very strangely the first races of the season, sitting at the back most of the time.

Hayter & Pidcock are still sick apparently. Paris

Hayter seems to hayte fighting for position which makes Sanremo a no go for him

He was giving Wout & JA a good fight at the pointy end in TofB but like many riders including Pidcock, his form is wrecked from illness this season so far as are many riders, especially Paris Nice with only 59 survivors.

 

[Breh]

Trek were not going to send Pedersen to this race????