Milano - Sanremo 2022, one day classic, March 19

[tobydawq]

I would be perfectly fine with that. San Remo has always changed. First by adding Poggio, then Cipressa, and now I think it's time to change again. For instance by replacing Cipressa with Pompeiana. An alternative could be replacing Poggio with Pompeiana, but this would probably be pretty much the same as it is today. It would possible to gain somewhat more time on the last climb, but they would certainly need it since it would increase the final flat section to something like 9 km.

Cipressa as the last climb could be interesting, but then you would certainly need more than Le Manie before that to make anything more than a pure sprinters classic. The real easy Cipressa + 13 km of flat would make it much easier for the sprint teams to contral. Adding Civezza and perhaps the climb to Colle di Cosa would be an absolute must.

What's wrong with the route as it is now?

 

[tobydawq]

Last Saturday, Primoz won in France, and Tadej won in Italy. Tomorrow, they both race in Italy, against each other.

I, this time, expect a breakaway of Roglic, Pogi, van Aert and Ganna, from Cipressa on.

My dream is that Primoz attacks this breakaway of four, in the descent from Poggio, just to prove he has become the rider with the best bike handling skills in the peloton, over the winter.

Perfect scenario: Solo victory Roglic, and Wout beats Pogi and Ganna for second.

You expect a break on the Cipressa?

Not.

Gonna.

Happen.

 

[OlavEH]

What's wrong with the route as it is now?

There is absolutely only one course of action. Attack on the last couple of km of Poggio and then the suspense if the attack is caught or not. An sucessful attack earlier than that is extremly unlikely.

 

[RedheadDane]

Nice that Pedersen is starting. After that immense sprint in PN, he must be the second favorite IMO: And perhaps Van der Poel also. This is suddenly shaping up to be much more interesting than I thought a couple of days ago!

Yeah, in the last few days it seems to have gone from "This guy's not racing, and that guy's not racing either." to "This guy's racing, and that guy might be racing too."

Of course, the only reason Pedersen is riding after all is because another big name is out; namely the defending champion, and the number 1 chocolatier of the pro peloton.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

You expect a break on the Cipressa?

Not.

Gonna.

Happen.

I have been looking forward to a breakaway on the Cipressa all week long, and would be disappointed if it is not gonna happen…

Imagine the peloton was full of riders who have the mentality of Jan Ullrich: „Oh, sh*t, a bike race from Milano to San Remo, 300kms long. Man, I hate bike racing, actually…!“.

The new stars, like Pogacar and van Aert, however, just LOVE bike racing. They are rather like, „Why wait for the Cipressa, if I can attack on the Turchino?!…“…

 

[TourOfSardinia]

You expect a break on the Cipressa?

Not.

Ganna.

Happen.

fixed that for you

 

[Lequack]

Milano - Sanremo 1989, Laurent Fignon solo win ahead of Frans Maassen (now on directeur sportif at Jumbo Visma).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va8it3owmkI

 

[tobydawq]

There is absolutely only one course of action. Attack on the last couple of km of Poggio and then the suspense if the attack is caught or not. An sucessful attack earlier than that is extremly unlikely.

Not a huge problem for me.

That's what makes the race so special.

 

[tobydawq]

I have been looking forward to a breakaway on the Cipressa all week long, and would be disappointed if it is not gonna happen…

Imagine the peloton was full of riders who have the mentality of Jan Ullrich: „Oh, sh*t, a bike race from Milano to San Remo, 300kms long. Man, I hate bike racing, actually…!“.

The new stars, like Pogacar and van Aert, however, just LOVE bike racing. They are rather like, „Why wait for the Cipressa, if I can attack on the Turchino?!…“…

They also want to win the race, which is why they will not attack too early.

 

[MrTea1976]

This is the race that got me back into watching cycling in 2009. Hoping for a good one, close finish between riders of differing skill sets.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Has Trek named the rest of their team yet?

 

[Vesica]

MvdP confirmed to race.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

MvdP confirmed to race.

Oh My God Its Happening GIF - Oh My God Its Happening Ok - Discover & Share GIFs

Click to view the GIF

tenor.com

 

[Bolder]

Not a huge problem for me.

That's what makes the race so special.

And saves me HOURS of viewing time. Tune in for the Cipressa/Poggio and bam! Done for the day.

 

[Mayomaniac]

This is probably the one time that I hope it doesn't rain. Over this week the wind has brought lots of sand from the Sahara desert, if it rains the road will be super slippery and the descents could turn into a carnage.

 

[Red Rick]

I would be perfectly fine with that. San Remo has always changed. First by adding Poggio, then Cipressa, and now I think it's time to change again. For instance by replacing Cipressa with Pompeiana. An alternative could be replacing Poggio with Pompeiana, but this would probably be pretty much the same as it is today. It would possible to gain somewhat more time on the last climb, but they would certainly need it since it would increase the final flat section to something like 9 km.

Cipressa as the last climb could be interesting, but then you would certainly need more than Le Manie before that to make anything more than a pure sprinters classic. The real easy Cipressa + 13 km of flat would make it much easier for the sprint teams to contral. Adding Civezza and perhaps the climb to Colle di Cosa would be an absolute must.

Yeah Cipressa as final climb and adding stuff before would get more action. Pompeiana just deletes any balance. Attacks suddenly fly on a 12% secrion on top of 5% average climb making it impossible for guys like Stuyven and Pedersen as well

 

[repre]

Due to an illness Caleb Ewan will finally not take the start in Milan-Sanremo.

 

[Lequack]

Due to an illness Caleb Ewan will finally not take the start in Milan-Sanremo.

Oh darn
He's the only one of the sprinters who had a chance against the WvA, Pogacar and the likes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1504777160753651713

View: https://twitter.com/Lotto_Soudal/status/1504777160753651713

 

[SafeBet]

Massive tailwind expected for tomorrow afternoon on the coast: 30/40 kmh from NE.

 

[Lequack]

Massive tailwind expected for tomorrow afternoon on the coast: 30/40 kmh from NE.

Is that good or bad for the sprinters?

 

[Samamba]

Well that's the end of Lotto's WT run then.

 

[Netserk]

Is that good or bad for the sprinters?

Super bad for sprinters, super good for attackers.

With Ewan out, Van Aert really is the major favourite. He doesn't need to force it on Poggio, but would probably prefer only a handful of riders contesting the win.

 

[samhocking]

Is that good or bad for the sprinters?

Doesn't make much difference. A headwind disadvantages the breakaway if the bunch work together in higher numbers consistently as it's simply a numbers game of physics and energy expenditure, but a strong tailwind will always help the bigger power riders like like Gaana & Wout.

 

[SafeBet]

Super bad for sprinters, super good for attackers.

With Ewan out, Van Aert really is the major favourite. He doesn't need to force it on Poggio, but would probably prefer only a handful of riders contesting the win.

I think he can lose the sprint to Pedersen.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

For me it's super disappointing that Quickstep chose Jakobsen to replace Alaphilippe instead of Masnada. Imagine what Fausto could do if he and Pogacar attack on Cipressa or earlier on Poggio.

Fausto will be on the startline in Catalunya though and leading the team. Very exciting