Milano-Sanremo 2015 [FULL RACE]

March 22, 2015

Milano-Sanremo 2015 – Milano – Sanremo : 293 km

Milan-San Remo, or La Clasica Primavera as it is also known, is the first of the five monuments and the longest on the calendar – with the neutralised section often bringing the race to over 300 kilometres in total. This year’s race sees a number of alterations to the course following the failed attempt to bring in the Pompeiana in 2014. For the first time since 2007, the race will finish on the Via Roma – the finish was used between 1949 and 1985 and then 1994 and 2007. Le Mànie has also been excluded once again, leaving the more traditional finish with the Capi, the Cipressa and the Poggio before the run-in to San Remo.

As has so often been the case, the longest of the Classics fell to the man who spent the shortest amount of time at the front. At almost 300 kilometres,Milan-San Remo is a race of patience as much as it is of endurance, and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) showed both qualities in abundance as he emerged in the final 50 metres to claim victory.

Last year’s winner Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) had looked set to confirm pre-race expectations when he was ushered into the box seat by teammate Luca Paolini with a little over a kilometre remaining, but the Via Roma after seven hours of racing is a finishing straight like no other.

Kristoff was forced to open his effort from distance – or at least, sooner than he would have liked – and he was swamped in the final 100 metres. Degenkolb swooped past to take the spoils, while Kristoff just held off Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) and a blanket of riders for second place.

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) was among them, and he had to settle for fourth after opening his sprint from quite a way back. The Slovak had shown his eagerness on the Poggio when he attempted to bridge across to attackers Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) and Geraint Thomas (Sky), and he even briefly found himself at the very front of the race with two kilometres remaining. A costly error, perhaps.

Degenkolb, by contrast, maintained a watching brief during that breathless finale, always well-positioned on the climbs, but never once exposing himself to the wind before it was absolutely necessary. His was an approach ripped straight from the Oscar Freire playbook and, as its wont, La Classicissima rewarded intelligence as much as it did strength.

“It was a really tough race, a beautiful victory. It’s a race that really suits me, it’s perfect for me and now it’s mine,” Degenkolb said. “The team helped me perfectly as far as the Poggio. I was always near the front positions on the descent and then I just gave it my all in the sprint.”

Kristoff’s words after the podium ceremony echoed the lament of so many beaten men on the Via Roma over the years. Milan-San Remo’s traditional finishing straight returned to the route this time around after an eight-year hiatus and, once again, that almost imperceptible rise to the line made a whole world of difference.

“Luca Paolini did great work for me. On the Poggio, he was fantastic and he practically brought me all the way to Via Roma. He led me out wonderfully and I gave it my all,” Kristoff said. “Unfortunately, Degenkolb passed me on a slightly uphill finishing straight. Those last 50 metres seemed liked they’d never end. Maybe I went too early…”

The Norwegian’s hopes had already seemed to be ebbing away on the Cipressa, where Team Sky and BMC’s aggression left him dangling at the rear of the reduced peloton like a loose tooth, but – not for the first time – Paolini was La Primavera’s best supporting actor. The bearded Italian kept Kristoff in touch there, and then led the bunch almost all the way up the Poggio, with Kristoff tucked on his wheel in second position.

With other fast men, including Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) and André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) losing contact on the Poggio, the balance looked to be tilting towards Kristoff, though as ever in Milan-San Remo, there were late cameos and twists.

On the climb itself, Thomas, who was already off the front with Daniel Oss (BMC), powered away alone, while closer to the summit, Greg Van Avermaet showcased his form with a searing acceleration that saw him bridge across to the Welshman at the top of the descent.

Sagan and Matthews, meanwhile, also made an attempt to track the move in the company of Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing), but ultimately found themselves caught in no man’s land and the race came back together on the plunge down into San Remo.

“I followed Sagan on the Poggio to stay with him but it wasn’t the moment,” Matthews said. “Kristoff was strong in the finale but I left it too late in the sprint. I had good legs in the finale, maybe I was the fastest. It’s one of the best results of my career but I’m disappointed.”

Such is the terrible beauty of Milan-San Remo, as Degenkolb could attest. Twelve months ago, a late puncture eliminated the German from contention, and he fought back the tears as he considered his turn in fortunes.

“One year ago it was the biggest disappointment in my career. I had the legs to be there and sprint like today like I did today but it took me almost a week to get over it,” he said. “When I look back now it’s really unbelievable, from the deepest to the highest point: that was the emotion.”

How it unfolded

For the third successive year, steady rain and low temperatures greeted the peloton as they lined up beneath Milan’s Arco della Pace and it was decidedly more winter than primavera for the entire trundle through the flatlands of Lombardy and Piedmont as far as the Passo del Turchino

As ever, an early break with a sizeable Italian contingent formed once the flag dropped and the eleven escapees – Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18), Sebastian Molano (Colombia), Maarten Tjallingii (LottoNL-Jumbo) Andrea Peron (Novo Nordisk), Stefano Pirazzi (CSF Bardiani), Adrian Kurek (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Serge Pauwels (MTN-Qhubeka), Julien Berard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Tiziano Dall’Antonia (Androni Giocattoli) and Marco Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli) – carried a lead of ten minutes across the mighty Po, shortly beyond Pavia.

Katusha and Trek Factory Racing were perhaps the most diligent of the pace-setters in the peloton in the opening 200 kilometres, and they ensured that the deficit was down to just five minutes by the time they crested the summit of the Turchino and began the drop towards the Riviera.

Mercifully, the rain abated as the afternoon progressed, and while it wasn’t quite spring on the Ligurian coast, the roads were at least almost dry by the time the race hit the capi in the final 50 kilometres. Those headlands fractured the unity of the break – Matteo Bono slipped away alone – but they also stirred Team Sky into action in the peloton.

Luke Rowe took up the reins on the Capo Berta, with Thomas and Ben Swift tucked in behind him, and when their teammate Salvatore Puccio’s wheels slid from under him on the descent, that trio found themselves with a gap over the peloton. Rather than sit up, Rowe elected to keep forcing the pace, and by the base of the Cipressa, they had picked off the remnants of the early break, though Orica-GreenEdge’s brief spell of chasing meant that the bunch was always within touching distance and they were caught as the climb began.

On the Cipressa, it became clear that Sky and BMC were determined to make the race as selective as possible in a bid to shake off the pure fast men. Silvan Dillier, Van Avermaet and Thomas, along with an impressive Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep), enjoyed a brief rally off the front, and when that petered out, Lars Peter Nordhaug’s brisk tempo put Kristoff, Cavendish, Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Greipel in difficulty.

Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) enjoyed a brief cameo on the descent, but as the road flattened out, Oss and Thomas forged clear. With Oss performing the bulk of the pace-setting, the duo established a lead of 30 seconds with 15 kilometres remaining, but it was shorn back to 17 seconds as they began the climb of the Poggio.

Once the gradient stiffened, Thomas struck out alone, and while Paolini was now leading the bunch in support of Kristoff, he was making no inroads into the deficit on the climb. 700 metres from the summit, Philippe Gilbert (BMC) launched a testing acceleration but it was his teammate Van Avermaet who eventually broke the deadlock, ripping clear of the chase group and setting out in pursuit of Thomas.

Van Avermaet would lead all the way down the descent – where Gilbert, Gerald Ciolek, Stybar and Michal Kwiatokowski all crashed out of contention – and then try to forge away as the road flattened out, only to relent inside the final two kilometres.

When Paolini took over in support of Kristoff and led a group of 30 or so riders past the famous fountain and onto the Via Roma, it began to feel like a case of what Yogi Berra would call déjà vu all over again. But one can never step in the same river twice, and this time victory washed over John Degenkolb.

Results :
1 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant – Alpecin 6:46:16
2 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
3 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica Greenedge
4 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Saxo
5 Niccolo’ Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre – Merida
6 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
7 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing
8 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – Merida
9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
10 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) MTN – Qhubeka
11 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal
12 Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff Saxo
13 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky
14 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Team Cannondale – Garmin
15 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
16 Grega Bole (Slo) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
17 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
18 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
19 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
20 Aleja Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
21 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
22 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
23 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
24 Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar Team
25 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant – Alpecin
26 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
27 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale 0:00:06
28 Nathan Haas (Aus) Team Cannondale – Garmin
29 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff Saxo 0:00:09
30 Luca Paolini (Ita) Team Katusha 0:00:11
31 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:12
32 Mathieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ 0:00:23
33 Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ
34 Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ
35 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica Greenedge
36 Rein Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
37 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica Greenedge
38 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
39 Bram Tankink (Ned) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
40 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Team Cannondale – Garmin
41 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre – Merida
42 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
43 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
44 Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Ag2r La Mondiale
45 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
46 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx – Quick-Step
47 Andre’ Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
48 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale 0:00:51
49 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:56
50 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:01:18
51 Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
52 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre – Merida
53 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:38
54 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:02:52
55 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:03:00
56 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step
57 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
58 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
59 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN – Qhubeka 0:03:38
60 Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha 0:04:38
61 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek Factory Racing
62 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica Greenedge
63 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
64 Julian Arredondo Moreno (Col) Trek Factory Racing
65 Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
66 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:04:41
67 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:04:56
68 Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
69 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant – Alpecin 0:04:59
70 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant – Alpecin
71 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN – Qhubeka
72 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
73 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha
74 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
75 Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
76 Jérome Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling
77 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
78 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora – Argon 18
79 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) MTN – Qhubeka
80 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
81 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
82 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – Merida
83 Marco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
84 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
85 Juan Jo Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Movistar Team
86 Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step
87 Branislau Samoilau (Blr) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
88 Bartlomiej Matysiak (Pol) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
89 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Bora – Argon 18
90 Adriano Malori (Ita) Movistar Team
91 Bert Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
92 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
93 Axel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Lampre – Merida
94 Dmitry Kozonchuk (Rus) Team Katusha
95 Lasse Norman Hansen (Den) Team Cannondale – Garmin
96 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
97 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica Greenedge
98 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Bora – Argon 18
99 Javier Megias Leal (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
100 Jacobus Venter (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
101 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling 0:06:30
102 Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia 0:07:08
103 Luca Chirico (Ita) Bardiani CSF
104 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant – Alpecin
105 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky
106 Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Bora – Argon 18
107 Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia
108 Jack Bauer (NZl) Team Cannondale – Garmin
109 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Bora – Argon 18 0:08:27
110 Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo 0:08:57
111 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
112 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre – Merida
113 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
114 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
115 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) IAM Cycling
116 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
117 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
118 Brayan St Ramirez Chacon (Col) Colombia
119 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:11:30
120 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx – Quick-Step
121 Jan Barta (Cze) Bora – Argon 18
122 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
123 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff Saxo
124 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora – Argon 18
125 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff Saxo
126 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Androni Giocattoli 0:11:37
127 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
128 Benoit Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ
129 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
130 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
131 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Trek Factory Racing
132 Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling
133 Jasha Sutterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
134 Adrian Kurek (Pol) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
135 Julien Berard (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale
136 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
137 Moreno Moser (Ita) Team Cannondale – Garmin
138 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:14:58
139 Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
140 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
141 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
142 Christian Delle Stelle (Ita) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
143 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
144 Robert Wagner (Ger) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
145 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
146 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
147 Rick Flens (Ned) Team Lotto NL – Jumbo
148 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff Saxo
149 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant – Alpecin
150 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
151 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant – Alpecin
152 Chad Haga (USA) Team Giant – Alpecin
153 Tomasz Kiendys (Pol) Ccc Sprandi Polkowice
154 Edwin Avila Vanegas (Col) Colombia
155 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Colombia
156 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Ag2r La Mondiale
157 Steven Cummings (GBr) MTN – Qhubeka
158 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
159 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk
160 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ 0:20:41