Milano - Sanremo changes route!

[Descender]

The essence of the five monuments rested on the fact that they are so different, hence why it is so hard to win all five of them.

The more I think about it, the more upset I get at this move.

 

[barmaher]

OK, not showing up on my work sysem here, but I got up off my fat *** and googled it myself.

 

[jaylew]

I tend to agree with the consensus so far. I'm usually all for more climbs and fewer sprint finishes but MSR had achieved a good balance. Hopefully this won't change that too much but I fear it will. However, I'll reserve judgement and see how it's raced the next couple of years.

 

[Shardi]

Looks more like the first Ardennes race of the season..!

 

[Miburo]

The essence of the five monuments rested on the fact that they are so different, hence why it is so hard to win all five of them.

The more I think about it, the more upset I get at this move.

Yea exactly, don't like it. MSR had the perfect balance.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Yea exactly, don't like it. MSR had the perfect balance.

Hmm this seems to the MSR 5s.

 

[Pippo_San]

All that crying for nothing.
This year everyone shouted how spectacular the race was, what with the great selection from afar thanks to the weather.

Now they try to make this race not exactly a rush up the Poggio (read: turn on the TV only on the last 10 kms else you'll fall asleep), and everyone complains.

What the **** guys.

I'm actually liking the couple Acquarone/Vegni more and more, deeply impressed with their work as of late.

And by the way: Milano-Sanremo was NEVER intended as a race for pure sprinters, mind you.

 

[ElChingon]

I can understand when they change the route due to road repairs, natural disasters, but just for the hell of it? Its a freaking classic... might as well move the date while they're at it.

If they want to make the race more exciting just raise the prizes by a factor of 10, you'll see some action. No instead they add a climb to the sprinters classic

Whats next they shave off all the Bergs at Flanders?

 

[pastronef]

I can understand when they change the route due to road repairs, natural disasters, but just for the hell of it? Its a freaking classic... might as well move the date while they're at it.

If they want to make the race more exciting just raise the prizes by a factor of 10, you'll see some action. No instead they add a climb to the sprinters classic

Whats next they shave off all the Bergs at Flanders?

it seems they are on the right path

they changed the date to sunday after it was raced for aeons on saturday

Flanders.... new parcours... meh

 

[icefire]

And by the way: Milano-Sanremo was NEVER intended as a race for pure sprinters, mind you.

+1

Poggio was added in 1960. Cipressa in 1982. La Manie in 2008. All of them had the declared intent of avoiding a mass sprint. Pure sprinters will always have Scheldeprijs.

 

[SafeBet]

Who said this was a race for pure sprinters?
Point is this was the only monument who gave a chance to pure sprinters, among many other contenders. Some years they would do it, some others they wouldn't. But they could do it.

This was the distinctive aspect of this race, the very element which made it special and different from any other race in the WT, and now it's likely gone for good.

 

[brilleaben]

In before Acquarone makes it a MTF in 2015 and moves it to Belgium in 2016.

 

[King Boonen]

MSR is my favourite race by far and I'm finding this quite upsetting.

The wide variety of winners shows that they had the balance just right. It's not a GT sprint stage where others are conserving energy and the sprinters teams get to rule the roost, it's the monument where anyone and everyone who has the legs (and at the length it is you need damn good legs) can have a go at some point and either try to hold on or claw the break back.

I'm willing to wait and see but I'm not holding out hope. I feel they want to almost guarantee a big name win, be that Fabs, Sags, Nibs or someone similar.

 

[brilleaben]

It's true that judging from the winners of the last 5 years, the races could have been reduced bunch sprints. But they weren't. Now all the sprinters/roulers won't be bothered.
Hopefully Nibali will just win it in 2014, so we can go back to the "old" route.

 

[trevim]

I'll wait to see: usually there's a long flat between Cipressa and Poggio so it would be nice to see this new climb and Poggio without Cipressa. Meanwhile, I'm not comfortable with San Remo without Cipressa so I would advise the sprinters to work on their climbing skills during the winter: depending on how it's ridden, I would say rouleurs and sprinters still have a chance. It's just that puncheurs will get a better shot I think.

 

[Shardi]

In the current version, there is flat between the cipressa and poggio. The gradient on cipressa is not so steep and sprinters can get back on with good support, if gc/puncheurs grills it on cip.

Last 5 editions there has been a compact group at the bottom of the poggio. Yeah sometiems theres a few guys up the road, but all the contenders have been more or less in the big group, 20-40 riders at the poggio foot.

a 5km 5% hill in between equals:

* no comeback for sprinters
* one more attacking point for puncheurs/gc riders
* one more way to try to hurt sagan/cancellara for guys like nibali, valverde. Alltho at that point of the season, cancellara has better form than those ardennes riders so them dropping him is.. i dont know.. its gonna be abit like the worlds '13 course really.

Bottom line is. Big favourites of the past like cancellara, sagan, nibali, Gilbert, Gerrans, I dont think their chances of winning changes much. Perhaps that hill takes more of a toll on sagan/cancellara, and nibali will have a stronger move relative to those two, on the poggio. But meh..

Guys like Goss, Cavendish, Haussler, EBH, Ciolek, will have a harder time hanging on to the piggio. Cavendish most certainly is out of the picture now.

 

[Broth3r]

I don't understand the notion that there absolutely must be a monument for pure sprinters, or that even gives them a chance without aggressive rides.

Kill the Paris-Tours while you're at it. No more crutches.

 

[Shardi]

in the last 65km theres 6 hills now (counting the little lumps), its as dense last 60km of LBL, alltho abit lower gradients on the climbs (4.1% cipressa, 3,7% poggio) makes it alot more more benign.

Used to be 9.0 km between cipressa and poggio. Now its
cipressa -> 3.3km -> new climb -> 4.1 km -> Poggio. Very little flat to come back on.

 

[Kwibus]

Exactly this. MSR has been one of the best races of the year the last few seasons (well, ok, this year's was merely alright). Why do anything to change the delicate balance it had achieved?

This.

Change is not needed, allthough I'm still interested how this turns out. No more chance for the pure sprinters I guess, but the climbs ain't very hard.

It's impossible to control so it's not that easy for Sagan to win. He will need to follow every move and it's not anymore certain that the decisive move is on the Poggio like on the previous course.

 

[murali]

Who said this was a race for pure sprinters?
Point is this was the only monument who gave a chance to pure sprinters, among many other contenders. Some years they would do it, some others they wouldn't. But they could do it.

This was the distinctive aspect of this race, the very element which made it special and different from any other race in the WT, and now it's likely gone for good.

+1.
Now we can forget about a Cav or a Ciolek ever winning MSR.

I am pretty sure now they will construct a road with 20%+ gradient just for this race next, and make it a MTF.

 

[Netserk]

I am pretty sure now they will construct a road with 20%+ gradient just for this race next

They don't need to construct something that is already there

There's a wall to Cipressa from the south:

 

[the asian]

Who said this was a race for pure sprinters?
Point is this was the only monument who gave a chance to pure sprinters, among many other contenders. Some years they would do it, some others they wouldn't. But they could do it.

This was the distinctive aspect of this race, the very element which made it special and different from any other race in the WT, and now it's likely gone for good.

Spot on ! 10 chrs

 

[Echoes]

Typical of Netserk/CN to relegate an important news of one of the major races in the calendar in the "general news thread". Poor forum !


Besides posters here can't understand that Milan-Sanremo has never been and never will be a race for sprinters. That's a misunderstanding caused by "cycling's darkest hours". The last editions show it.

It's 290/300km, folks !!!! D'you know what that means ...

since the addition of the Poggio, it's always been a hilly race for punchers who have enough stamina to handle that distance.

The Cipressa has never been added to avoid bunch sprint. Added in 1982. In 1981, De Wolf nailed it alone. Documentate please. The reason announced back then was to avoid some dangerous roads.

 

[Eshnar]

Typical of Netserk/CN to relegate an important news of one of the major races in the calendar in the "general news thread". Poor forum !


Besides posters here can't understand that Milan-Sanremo has never been and never will be a race for sprinters. That's a misunderstanding caused by "cycling's darkest hours". The last editions show it.

It's 290/300km, folks !!!! D'you know what that means ...

since the addition of the Poggio, it's always been a hilly race for punchers who have enough stamina to handle that distance.

The Cipressa has never been added to avoid bunch sprint. Added in 1982. In 1981, De Wolf nailed it alone. Documentate please. The reason announced back then was to avoid some dangerous roads.

De Wolf won for a few seconds and behind him there was a group of 58.
In 1980 bunch sprint of 40+. In 1979 Bunch sprint of 60+. Same can be said for both Poggio and Manie.

 

[Echoes]

Wrong for 1979. They were 15 classified in the same time. I saw footage of it and Knetemann 15th was clearly dropped for a couple of seconds. The rest was 20" behind.

http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1979result.htm

Okay for 1980. That's an exception. 11" between De Wolf and the peloton in 1981. They were just at the fontain when he crossed the line I think.

In 1965 they added the Capo Caprazoppa, which was dropped the year after.