Milano - Sanremo 2023, one day monument, March 18

[Unchained]

Great race,great racers,great tactics Wout's response was classy about himself and the winner..

 

[Valv.Piti]

Good race..

But can we stop being overly alternative and hipster and just call it what it is.. a race you don't need to watch until 25 km to go, even 15 at times. This is not the 'greatest' race and what not. Its a solid one when you know what you can expect.

Gimme Roubaix and Flanders any day of the weak, and Ill actually be engaged in the race with 150 km left and wanna spend my whole day watching, and the days leading up to the race feeling excited.

This is way, waaaay different, but an explosive and exciting finish nonetheless. Reminds me of LS moaning about the Vuelta 2012-stages - perfect youtube-cycling.

 

[limak_]

He can hope that he is the strongest and make it a race the strongest will win (like today). He could have attacked a bit earlier (around this spot, where they had just turned left to a tailwind and when only Kragh was in position to follow), but more importantly after firing his best bullet, he could have raced negatively. They can catch him, but he can make them lose. And then he goes again next year, daring them to choose mutual destruction.

If you analyse the race frame by frame, then you will obviously find that one perfect moment that he could've attacked but that'd have never come to his mind with Wellens still pulling super strong and the top of the Poggio still being so far. And also with the last year experience.

I don't think he expected even in the best scenario to go solo on Poggio. It's too easy of a climb and too strong competition. So he was just happy at that moment of finding himself in a group of four.

All of these don't change the fact that imo in case of a riders like Pogacar it's hard to think of another tactics for San Remo that hard place + attack close to the summit. Everything else is a gamble.

 

[Netserk]

If you analyse the race frame by frame, then you will obviously find that one perfect moment that he could've attacked but that'd have never come to his mind with Wellens still pulling super strong and the top of the Poggio still being so far. And also with the last year experience.

I don't think he expected even in the best scenario to go solo on Poggio. It's too easy of a climb and too strong competition. So he was just happy at that moment of finding himself in a group of four.

All of these don't change the fact that imo in case of a riders like Pogacar it's hard to think of another tactics for San Remo that hard place + attack close to the summit. Everything else is a gamble.

He needs to gamble.

Unless he is strong enough to win by strength. While that was the path he took today, he didn't have the legs for it.

If he is the one who has forced the selection and pulled the most, he will stand little chance to win from a group of four like that one. Which brings me back to the point that he should switch strategy and race negatively once it's clear that he can't get away alone or with someone he can expect to defeat.

EDIT: and by the way, it was also that exact spot I pointed out before the race began.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations to Mathieu van der Poel for winning Milano Sanremo.

Like Grandfather, like Grandson. Favorites didn't want to leave anything to coincidence today. Moho got a good team support but not much you can do against four favorites deciding to burn one giant match. In retrospective leadouts Mathieu did at TA. That was an indicator of what is to come. If they came together to the finish line the outcome would likely still be the same. This is a race where we could talk about it in more depth but the winner would always be unpredictable. And not much you can do about it. Ganna, van Aert and Pogačar all did a good job today. Not much they could have done better. If JV would be here with a Roglič and van Aert combo. Such combo might be able to do something as early as on Cipressa. Maybe someday they try something like that.

 

[Tim Cahill]

50 seconds in, mid-screen for an awesome race-defining move from Trentin and Wellens, I wonder if they planned it that way, reminds me a bit of Kwiatkowski and Porte letting the wheel slip in that Dauphine stage that Thomas won.

 

[CyclistAbi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1637122376264556544

 

[CHGJ2000]

One last thing: 1x's are freaking stupid for the road. I know it's a sponsorship thing, but SRAM can f**k all the way off. I hate them for anything but a trail bike and above.

It's not a sponsor thing, it's an aero thing.

A small chainring is useless for a race like this and 2x just is an aero, weight and chain security penalty (as a result of chainring design). If anything it's a reverse of a sponsor issue. Can 100% guarantee if someone like Bigham had his way, Ineos would be on 1x for MSR and a huge number of other races. Can say the same thing for the technical support of many other teams, but Shimano doesn't want them on 1x. A lot of the time they haven't even used it on pan flat TT's.

 

[Nick2413]

I also noticed rewatching that whoever was the 3rd UAE rider in the line as Wellens was stringing out the peloton either cleverly or exhaustedly gradually let go of the wheel in front of him, automatically creating a gap to the front 8 (9?) riders, and when those behind him hesitated to close that gap it essentially eliminated everyone behind from contention, even before Pogacar launched his attack. Would be interested to know who that was and whether it was planned that way.

They must have listened to Red Rick who I remember said they should to do that to give Pog a chance.

 

[saunaking]

Sad Pog did not get the podium.

tactically he is awful.
what was the plan, just pull those 3 guys right to the top?
once it was obvious he wasnt dropping them, mayble plan B?

MVDP genius when it matters, as usual

 

[saunaking]

He wanted to win. He can't afford a sprint with WVA. And he made the decisive attack, WVA is the one to blame for not respond to MVP

wva didn't have legs today

 

[saunaking]

Van Aert really doesn't look happy

he is a terrible tactical rider

 

[saunaking]

Van der Poel: I knew I’d win
Van Aert: I knew I’d lose
Ganna: I never dreamed I could podium

THis is so spot on its scary

 

[movingtarget]

The comfy couch

That two seater needs an upgrade..........

 

[wheresmybrakes]

That two seater needs an upgrade..........

It's a cuddle chair. They love each other really.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

So MVDP is just going to let Pog have the Poggio KOM?

No need to infuriate Teddy before Flandres. MVP is a tactical genius.

 

[tobydawq]

Good race..

But can we stop being overly alternative and hipster and just call it what it is.. a race you don't need to watch until 25 km to go, even 15 at times. This is not the 'greatest' race and what not. Its a solid one when you know what you can expect.

Gimme Roubaix and Flanders any day of the weak, and Ill actually be engaged in the race with 150 km left and wanna spend my whole day watching, and the days leading up to the race feeling excited.

This is way, waaaay different, but an explosive and exciting finish nonetheless. Reminds me of LS moaning about the Vuelta 2012-stages - perfect youtube-cycling.

Disagreed on most points apart from the fact that it's irrelevant to watch the first 250 kms.

 

[Red Rick]

Good race..

But can we stop being overly alternative and hipster and just call it what it is.. a race you don't need to watch until 25 km to go, even 15 at times. This is not the 'greatest' race and what not. Its a solid one when you know what you can expect.

Gimme Roubaix and Flanders any day of the weak, and Ill actually be engaged in the race with 150 km left and wanna spend my whole day watching, and the days leading up to the race feeling excited.

This is way, waaaay different, but an explosive and exciting finish nonetheless. Reminds me of LS moaning about the Vuelta 2012-stages - perfect youtube-cycling.

It's *** unique. There's no other race like it. Just like De Ronde and Roubaix.

I think Liege and Lombardia are somewhat more interchangable with other climby one days, but they'll always keep the status.

 

[Salvarani]

It's *** unique. There's no other race like it. Just like De Ronde and Roubaix.

I think Liege and Lombardia are somewhat more interchangable with other climby one days, but they'll always keep the status.

Love MSR. The most difficult race to win.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Disagreed on most points apart from the fact that it's irrelevant to watch the first 250 kms.

So you think its the best race on the calender?
So you'd rather watch MSR than Flanders or Roubaix?
You dont think the race is explosive, but boring up until that point?

I don't get what exactly you're disagreeing on based on you thinking the same as me - its not a good watch until the last hour.

 

[Valv.Piti]

It's *** unique. There's no other race like it. Just like De Ronde and Roubaix.

I think Liege and Lombardia are somewhat more interchangable with other climby one days, but they'll always keep the status.

Yes, its very unique. That doesnt make it a great race to watch apart from the hour...

 

[Red Rick]

Yes, its very unique. That doesnt make it a great race to watch apart from the hour...

I think only Roubaix is mandatory watching from before the last 60km. I don't think De Ronde is has anything more important happen before the 2nd Kwaremont than in Sanremo before Cipressa. Liege you don't really have to watch before Redoute, Lombardia you don't really have to watch before Civiglio or Muro di Sormano if it's in. A lot of WCs are pretty bad too.

Arguably you don't even need to watch Cipressa in Sanremo, but the section into the Poggio climb and descent is the only 10km stretch in cycling where so many different scenarios play out in such a big race. And you very rarely have the decisive attack and then knowing who wins because they're gone and never being brought back or it's a 2 guy group and one is never losing that sprint.

And this may sound dumb, but I like the scenery and views of Milano Sanremo simply more than the Belgian and French monuments.

 

[BR2]

The startlist quality in this case (again) makes the race important and interesting.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Theres a huge diff just paying attention to when they hit Cipressa and feeling like you missed absolutely nothing and then watching De Ronde. More often than not, something really interesting happens before the second Kwaremont and even if the race only really starts there (which I really disagree on as well), thats 55 km of the best racing you will see each year.

 

[RedheadDane]

I think only Roubaix is mandatory watching from before the last 60km.

I don't think any race has mandatory watching from before the last 60km.