Yep this isn't a good race for us. Give it a few seasons to develop Jarugegui and Gougeard though.... so about 4 years

No clue what the matter with my team is.. Constantly underperforming and doing shit, the first three flat stages taken aside.

And here I was fearing he got injured, great ride from Bauke! This definitely makes up for his missed upgrade last year!

Stiil 11th and 12th in the GC, but I'm in favour of keeping it as it is now

Oh De Clercq you're useless

And Karl Marx didn't like this stage as well.. seems like Kakhi isn't ready for WT yet.

Very confused at the time of the split. The text said that Izagirre was in the front group(?) but we were pulling the group left behind??

Apart from that a god report and an amazing stage for us with two stage top 10's, two GC top 10's and the mountain jersey

Yeah, I was a bit confused by that as well. Also, I think giving the names on the wrong side of the split works better then those screens (which don't give all the names). But great report otherwise!

Wtf Moreno... like seriously? At least Paulinho put in a half decent performance but Moreno being behind Paulinho, Zaugg and Bennett on the GC (not to mention Cavendish et al) is utter rubbish.

That was unfortunately not what we needed from this stage. I hope that it was just a bad day from Betancur and that he can still put in a good performance on the last two stages, because otherwise we would fail another goal.

Thanks for the feedback This was just for testing it out and I'm sorry if I formulated it wrong that I zag irrelevant wasn't in the front group

Though I think whoever made this stage, didn't get the consequences of having so many narrow roads, which means bring in front and having no hill stats, than being in the middle with a high hill Stat doesn't add up :/

i guess I have to be disappointed by that
4th must be the unluckiest result with the current point scales.

Well, fuck this shit.

What the fuck are you doing Pinot!!!!!!

We really tried something here with Tony in the break and with Kwiatek just missing out the win. At least he is now in the Top10 in the GC.

Sagan did great, limiting his losses. 3 seconds are easy to get back.

At least Poels was able to squeeze into the top 100...

Nerz went down fighting, I'm good with that. It's all I could have asked really. Still doesn't warrant his San Luis performance but it's a start.

I originally planned to post MSR tomorrow but maybe I won't find time for it, so instead...

The first monument of the season is here, and with some unfriendly clouds on the sky of Milano, it looks like a tough day in the saddle. But the riders are used to that by now, following the previous editions of the race. We will take on the traditional road from Milano to San Remo. This means no La Manie and no Pompeina. The only one who didn't seem to get the memo are seemingly Movistar. So instead of the new, undesired changes in the profile, it's the classic route, which sees the finish as a mix of Capo Berto, famous Cipressa and beautiful Poggio di San Remo.




Right at the start, Androni launches the first attack. Frenes is the name. The Costa Rican is followed by Gutierrez (COL) and Dockx (LTB). The peloton only slowly forms itself to take up the relay duties. Slow pace. Apparently the peloton is okay with the BOTD. When the lead extends to 4 minutes quickly, it is clear that plenty of coverage will belong to those three.


40 kilometers into the race and the rain starts. We called it, just saying. Now it’s here. Most of those guys wear short sleeves today. If the temperature falls, they shouldn’t grab their sleeves too late. Otherwise they run risk of freezing till the way to San Remo, and as consequence of this, bonking. Lotto Belisol do their relay work despite having a guy upfront. SKY, Cannondale, Europcar, Belkin and Garmin Sharp all have one guy up there too.


Still a long way to go for the riders, but the breakaway has almost completed the first big challenge of the day. Passo del Turchino is being ridden, and with 145 kilometers behind them, they have a solid lead of almost 10 minutes. Of course this lead will tremble fast as soon as the peloton starts to serious chase but for now, the three guys are doing a fine job out there in this horrible weather.


Rudy Verboven can’t catch a breath we think. In the downhill from Turchino, he is yet again involved in a crash. Surely the slippery roads don’t help him, and he hasn’t really learned that much in winter despite his time in Cyclo-Cross recently. Geschke (GIA), Hunter (MTN) and Ferrari (LAM) were involved too. Samuel Sanchez, Scarponi and Favili are later crashing at the end of the downhill as well.


Evergreen and fan-darling Adam Hansen is doing some relay work as well. He’s born for these kinda things. Really strange to see a Lotto rider up there and yet the team still chases. Then again, they are fairly known to be true work horses, always putting in work at the front for their team captain Andre Greipel. Despite the non-stopping rain, the wind is fairly calm at the seaside, allowing for some easy riding.



No sunshine at the sea, only fog and rain and clouds. Through it, you can spot the race cars and some riders of the peloton. Still very far, far in the distance but at 200 kilometers ridden, the lead is merely 4 minutes. The riders are nearing the climbs, with Capo Berta, Cipressa and the Poggio di San Remo promising a wet, dangerous race. I hope we don’t hear Cancellara whining through the rain. At least the wind isn't creating much problems for the riders, it won't be much of a factor today.


Ahead of Capo Serva, Tinkoff Saxo’s leader Daniel Moreno has problems. He crashed. Immediately the entire team pulls back to bring him back. He seems to be slightly injured. Maybe this allows some opportunitiy for Sam Bennett or Matti Breschel. Both of them have to help to get Moreno back to the bunch though. No problem though, the pace is still not at a high. But far from slow. A bit over 50 kph is the pace right now, wind is fairly still. Rain still pouring down. Still many teams take part in the relay effort.


Langeveld attacks ahead of the Capo Berta. He made a surprise podium last year in Paris-Roubaix, prompting the former-manager of RadioShack to be quite angry with the entire race and the lacking initiative of Cancellara’s rivals. Langeveld gets a solid lead fast. Two minutes to the BOTD. Maybe they can be of help to him.


Langeveld doesn’t get far. He’s still ahead and his effort deserves some praise but the hard chasing in the peloton is seemingly there. The peloton stretches thin, the first riders have been dropped. Belkin, Trek and Lotto at the forefront have some powerhorses alright. Especially Vanmarcke is doing a fine job here for Kittel. But don’t make it too fast, we wouldn’t want Kittel dropped now, would we?


Surprise move by Luis Leon Sanchez. The Spaniard rode past Vanmarcke and then put in a small dig to bridge up to Langeveld. Seems like either Kittel doesn’t have it today or they want to play it tactically today. Sanchez is sorta destined for such a race actually, with his great downhilling he immediately gets some bonus seconds.
But Lotto-Soudal and Trek don’t let this just happen. Jelle Vanendert is tasked to bring Sanchez back, and he succeeds in the way to Cipressa.




The Cipressa is here. But no attacks make it a bit of a disappointing affair. Not even Cance. The winner of last year is probably complaining already to the race jury. Lotto Belisol and Trek are content at simply holding the pace. No riders are eager to attack. Most must prefer to simply get to San Remo, and don’t want to think of riding out there. Their kit all wet and their legs all shaking.


At the 20 km mark, Brenes (AND) is about to get caught. A long day out in the break, kudos. The two others are still up ahead. The peloton is fighting for positions here, really dangerous. But with the slippery road only a few riders are taking unnecessary risks. Top Favourite Peter Sagan is always at the front, very aware of the race situation.


Gutierrez is making a last dash forward, whilst we receive news of a crash from Zdenek Stybar back in the peloton. It happened in the downhill but thankfully, he didn’t take anyone with him. Potential mass crash avoided.


Major move right now happening in the peloton, accompanied by some dropped riders in the back of the peloton. Sylvain Chavanel from Europcar places an attack here. Good choice. Coquard may be a fast man but putting a bit of pressure on the top teams, whilst also trying your own luck, is certainly worth the fun. The french champion quickly catches up to Dockx and subsequently also gets Gutierrez.


Trek, Belkin and SKY set the pace. Dockx is fighting there, as the steamroller called peloton rushes up the Poggio di San Remo. Mase, Slagter and Martens are at the forefront here. The captains are in the second row. Weschenbach is leading Cavendish up the Poggio. Kittel placed right behind Cav. Cancellara is right there too. Degenkolb, Boonen, Greipel make up the next few riders. Hanzen, Sagan and Calzone follow, but there are some helpers and outsiders in between too. Kristoff and Demare are some of the last sprinters we can spot.


Slagter gives it all, the riders are shivering but the pace is alright still. Remember, Kittel has to keep the wheel and get over the hill. The fight for position will be insane coming over the Poggio, since the pace would have had to be way higher to cause a real selection.


Chavanel is still ahead but he is clearly suffering and far, far in the red zone. Cancellara is now leading the pack. Immediately the pace went drastically up. Jelle Vanendert is the one next in succession, taking a turn as well. Tony Martin is just another powerhorse waiting to take a pull.


Five kilometers left! Chavanel made it into the descent. He’s excellent downhilling can really help him now to get a solid gap. Vanendert is fast, yet Chavanel has recovered a bit and is far superior to Vanendert, who is leading the peloton in the downhill.


The last corner from the Poggio, and we head into San Remo. Bennatti opens up the sprint with Sagan on his wheel. This looks perfect for the Slovakian. Debusschere is seen opening up for Greipel on the other side. Maes is in the middle, just doing… something, probably. The Renshaw- Kittel duo is spotted up there too.


Holy shit, Bennatti is crazy strong here! He opened up a gap for Sagan, to Greipel. To everybody else. Greipel is fighting to get into the slipstream, whilst Hanzen comes from the side, fast and probably in tip top shape after Poggio. Kittel hasn’t even opened up his sprint yet. It’s still a far way to go. Kristoff, Degenkolb and Cavendish are all there, but they are far down. Calzone seems to be leading out Rui Costa. Oh-okay.


Pure drama right now! You can see Chavanel fighting his heart out. As the rain has stopped in San Remo, the sprinters come around the corner. Kittel and Hanzen looks like dynamite, Greipel is fast too. But Sagan is still in Bennatti’s slipstream. Goss is the next sprinter in line, behind him quite a gap to other sprinters.


This is happening now. Chavanel gets caught to the line. To the freaking line. In San Remo. Sagan has finally left Bennatti’s stream but the others are coming fast from behind him. Kittel, Greipel and especially Hanzen are so damn fast in those last hundred meters. Who has the most kick left here.


Greipel is losing ground! Sagan is fighting for air, head down. Kittel is there, coming oh so damn fast. Hanzen on the side with some spectacular explosiveness.


It’s down to a fight for millimeters! Nothing more. Sagan vs Kittel!




It’s the German Hairstyler! Just millimeters are separating the two, we still catch a winning pose of Kittel though. Sagan gets second, surely disappointing. Hanzen on an amazing third, we’ll get to hear Manx Missile Sportsmanagement boasting about this for a year now likely. But on the plus side, BMC team manager has something to cheer for once again.

Greipel ends up being fourth, Goss fifth. The rest of the sprinters disappoint, as Chavanel and Benatti end up before them. Degenkolb, L.L. Sanchez and Cancellara complete the Top 10. No Cavendish, no Weschenbach, no Kristoff, no Calzone.


Congratulations to Kittel! The fastest man on the last 100 meters has now also won Milano – San Remo, and righting some of his doubters. He actually can take a hill. The pace wasn’t too dramatic today, maybe other teams should have made it even tougher to race to cause more selection. Fighter of the day has been Chavanel, who was just beaten by a few hundred meters. A tragedy for the french veteran.

Milano - San Remo, Results

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Marcel Kittel	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	6h44'28
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
3	Adrien Hanzen	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
4	André Greipel	Lotto Belisol	s.t.
5	Matthew Goss	Orica - GreenEdge	s.t.
6	Sylvain Chavanel	Team Europcar	s.t.
7	Daniele Bennati	Cannondale Pro Cycling	s.t.
8	John Degenkolb	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
9	Luis León Sánchez	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Fabian Cancellara	Trek Factory Racing	s.t.