Milano-Sanremo 2014 [FULL RACE] (flemish)

March 23, 2014

Milano-Sanremo 2014 – Milano – Sanremo : 294 km

After a late reprieve, the sprinters will be out to leave their mark on Milan-San Remo for what could well prove to be the last time, but for all the apparent familiarity of its finale, La Classicissima has never been a race to follow a preordained script to the letter. Over its history, the various tweaks made to the route of Milan-San Remo have helped the race strike a perfect balance and made it notoriously difficult to predict. An on-form sprinter will always fancy staying in contention through the rolling terrain over the closing 50 kilometres, but the capi are still just hard enough to give enterprising riders a fighting chance of staying clear. This year, of course, all of that was supposed to change, with RCS Sport deciding to insert the tough climb of the Pompeiana between the Cipressa and Poggio, a move that effectively signalled the death knell to the hopes of the pure sprinters, and one that was set to radically alter the complexion of the race. A landslide on the Pompeiana over the winter, however, has rendered the road unusable for this year’s race, and as an added bonus for the fast men, the climb of Le Manie no longer features on the route either. Instead, Milan-San Remo reverts to its “classic” (at least for those who grew up watching the race in the 1980s and 90s) pre-2008 parcours.

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the 105th Milan-San Remo taking the sprint ahead of Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Ben Swift (Team Sky). He easily pulled away in the closing meters after a perfect leadout from his teammate Luca Paolini.

It was the biggest career win for Kristoff, who became the first Norwegian to win the race.

As expected, the race once again came down to a mass sprint, with most of the top names making it through to the end. However, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) finished only fifth, last year’s winner Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka) ninth, and heavy favourite Peter Sagan (Cannondale) only 10th in a rain-affected race that split and regrouped several times as the peloton tackled a more traditional looking edition of the race.

The top sprinters had all survived up until the foot of the final climb of the Poggio, at which point an attack from Vincenzo Nibali – who had attacked on the Cipressa – was neutralised. John Degenkolb unluckily punctured near the base of the climb but Team Sky, BMC and Belkin all attempted to split the field on the fast run-in to Sam Remo. It was Katusha who took control. Paolini powered to the front inside the final kilometre at a crucial moment when discipline and calmness were required.

Omega Pharma tried to position Cavendish on the right hand side and although he had enough power to overtake an fading Sacha Modolo, he was powerless to stop Kristoff from charging for the line in a sprint reminiscent of Oscar Friere’s last win here in 2010.

Wet, wet, wet

The riders were served a taste of the conditions they would face during the race as they headed to the sign-in close to the Arco della Pace at the end of Corso Sempione. Showers and grey skies alternated in rapid frequency, with riders covered in rain jackets, leg warmers and gloves.

The riders rolled out from central Milan at 9:50 am as planned, with the official race start on the edge of the city in Via della Chiesa Rossa. With the 8.5km transfer and the 294km race route, the riders covered over 300km.

The roads and the Milan tram tracks were wet and slippery, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) crashing. He hurt his elbow and was forced to quit the race before it had officially begun.

The attacks came as soon as the flag as dropped, with Maarten Tjallingii (Belkin), Jan Barta (Netapp-Endura) the first to jump away. David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) was keen to get in the move in what is his final Milan-San Remo. However he was chased down and teammate Nathan Haas jumped across as a breakaway of seven riders formed.

The peloton was looking for a controlled race and let the magnificent seven go and they quickly gained a minute. The seven were Matteo Bono (Lampre Merida), Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF), Antonio Parrinello (Androni Giocattoli), Tjallingii (Belkin), Barta (NetApp-Endura) and Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthCare).

By the time the riders reached Pavia, after 35km, the break already had a gap of seven minutes. It reached 10 minutes after 45km but then the peloton began to react, with the first hour of the race covered at 47.7km/h.

Cannondale led the pursuit, with additional help from several other teams. However occasional rain showers dampened their enthusiasm and soaked the riders. A hailstorm also hit the race on the gradual slopes of the Passo Turchino, with temperatures falling to 5 degrees Celsius, but the gradual climb up from the Lombardy plain did little to change the race.

The break emerged from the 180m long Passo Turchino tunnel with a lead of eight minutes and a view of the Mediterranean offered hope of a dry finale. However it was not to be and spring had not yet arrived on the Italian Riviera. The rain returned as the riders headed west along the Aurelia coast road. Eating and drinking would be as vital as riding a tactically perfect race.

Peter Sagan stopped for a mechanical problem but was soon on his way and his Cannondale team continued to work on the front, with help from Orica-GreenEdge, Giant-Shimano and Trek Factory Racing.

As the riders reached the 175km point of the race, with still more than 100km to go, Boem struggled at the back of the break with cramp. All the seven breakaway riders were fatigued and wet after making a huge effort together, an effort of glory and sacrifice for their teammates rather than of personal ambition.

Before the second feed zone, at 70km to go, the break was reduced to just five riders. First Boem was dropped, then Haas sat up after an unfortunate puncture. After five hours of racing, much of it in the rain, the average speed was still above 42km/h. The gap between the breakaway and the peloton was down to 6:00 as the first capi climb, the Capo Mele, neared.

The gap was under three minutes as the peloton hit the Capo Berta, with the break down to only three riders. The rain let up as the Cipressa approached but the roads were still wet, and it had rained so heavily at the finish that the road was covered with several inches of water, a potentially dangerous situation which organizers hastened to clear away.

The hard conditions took their toll, as reports came through that Omega Pharma-QuickStep was starting to lose its sprint train, although Cavendish was still holding on.

On the Cipressa, Bono was the first to be dropped. Some 1:30 behind them, Cannondale led the way up, stringing out the field and with riders falling off the back with regularity. Nibali took off with 25km to go and quickly picked up a lead on the winding wet road. In no time he had caught and passed Bono.

As the road rose, the gap to the initial break continued to fall. The bad weather didn’t seem to bother Nibali, who calmly made his way up to the two remaining leaders, catching and passing them with 20km left.

More and more riders tried to jump away from the chasing group, but Cannondale did their best to hold things together with Alessandro De Marchi providing Sagan with crucial support. Nibali built his lead up to 49 seconds with 15km to go, as Tjallingii tried unsuccessfully to follow.

Sky moved up to the front of the chase, riding for Edvald Boasson Hagen, and the gap had fallen to 20 seconds with 10km – and the Poggio – still to go. Nibali had started to fade and at the foot of the climb; he only held a 13-second advantage.

Lotto led the furious chase, catching the Astana rider on the ascent with 9km to go, but it was Trek’s Fabian Cancellara who took off next with Gregory Rast, along with Enrico Battaglin of Bardiani going clear. There was a brief volley from Gilbert but he was unable to make an impression as up ahead as Rast and Battaglin tried to forge clear. They were caught near the top of the climb and it was Lars Petter Nordhaug (Belkin) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) who attempted to split the field on the treacherous descent.

Andre Greipel had lost contact on the climb but bravely fought back before the run-in to the line.

With 2km to go, many of the top names were still there as the mass sprint was set up. Katusha led the way to the 1km marker. Gilbert shot up the left hand side, and Cavendish put in his shot, but it was Kristoff who took the win with the Norwegian pulling away in the closing meters for a convincing win.

Results :
1 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 6:55:56
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing
3 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky
4 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Movistar Team
5 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
6 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
7 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
8 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre-Merida
9 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN – Qhubeka
10 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale
11 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin Sharp
12 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
13 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
14 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Garmin Sharp
15 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
16 Yoann Offredo (Fra) Fdj.fr
17 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
18 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-Saxo
19 Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek Factory Racing
20 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
21 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
22 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
23 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol
24 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol
25 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
26 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:06
27 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin Sharp 0:00:07
28 Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:34
29 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Sky
30 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:40
31 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team 0:00:54
32 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
33 Luca Paolini (Ita) Team Katusha 0:01:12
34 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Fdj.fr 0:01:22
35 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Belisol
36 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Yellow Fluo
37 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team 0:01:33
38 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team 0:01:35
39 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano 0:01:54
40 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:09
41 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team 0:02:38
42 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
43 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:03:14
44 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:03:15
45 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
46 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Cannondale
47 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:22
48 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:03:36
49 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge 0:03:50
50 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN – Qhubeka 0:04:10
51 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
52 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek Factory Racing 0:05:08
53 Marc Demaar (Ned) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
54 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano
55 Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin Sharp 0:05:23
56 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 0:05:29
57 Robert Förster (Ger) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
58 Dayer Uberney Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team
59 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Yellow Fluo
60 Mickael Delage (Fra) Fdj.fr 0:05:34
61 Marco Marcato (Ita) Cannondale 0:06:03
62 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale 0:06:06
63 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:06:20
64 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:06:23
65 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team Sky
66 Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
67 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team Netapp – Endura
68 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
69 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo
70 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Trek Factory Racing
71 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Tinkoff-Saxo
72 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) IAM Cycling 0:07:49
73 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Team Giant-Shimano
74 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:07:51
75 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Team Katusha 0:10:04
76 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha
77 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
78 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
79 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
80 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano
81 Robert Wagner (Ger) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
82 Johan Le Bon (Fra) Fdj.fr
83 Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) Lampre-Merida
84 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
85 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Fdj.fr
86 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Team Giant-Shimano
87 Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
88 Jaco Venter (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
89 Svein Tuft (Can) Orica GreenEdge
90 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano 0:11:42
91 Jan Barta (Cze) Team Netapp – Endura
92 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol
93 Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling
94 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
95 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar
96 Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
97 Marco Coledan (Ita) Bardiani CSF
98 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin Sharp
99 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Tinkoff-Saxo
100 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
101 David Boucher (Fra) Fdj.fr 0:14:33
102 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team Netapp – Endura
103 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Movistar Team
104 Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (Eri) MTN – Qhubeka
105 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Garmin Sharp 0:17:59
106 Kenny Robert Van Hummel (Ned) Androni Giocattoli
107 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
108 Rick Flens (Ned) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
109 Christopher Jones (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
110 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Yellow Fluo
111 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory Racing
112 Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
113 Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
114 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) MTN – Qhubeka
DNF Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
DNF Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN – Qhubeka
DNF Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka
DNF Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Omar Bertazzo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
DNF Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
DNF Antonio Parrinello (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
DNF Gianfranco Zilioli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
DNF Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Filippo Fortin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
DNF Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
DNF Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
DNF Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
DNF Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale
DNF Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale
DNF Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale
DNF Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) Fdj.fr
DNF Arthur Vichot (Fra) Fdj.fr
DNF Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin Sharp
DNF David Millar (GBr) Garmin Sharp
DNF Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling
DNF Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
DNF Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling
DNF Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) IAM Cycling
DNF Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Luca Wackermann (Ita) Lampre-Merida
DNF Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol
DNF Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Belisol
DNF Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol
DNF Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
DNF Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
DNF Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
DNF Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
DNF Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
DNF Mark Renshaw (Aus) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
DNF Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team
DNF Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
DNF Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
DNF Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge
DNF Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Bryan Naulleau (Fra) Team Europcar
DNF Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar
DNF Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-Shimano
DNF Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Team Katusha
DNF Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Team Katusha
DNF Iker Camano Ortuzar (Spa) Team Netapp – Endura
DNF David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team Netapp – Endura
DNF Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team Netapp – Endura
DNF Erick Rowsell (GBr) Team Netapp – Endura
DNF Paul Voss (Ger) Team Netapp – Endura
DNF Dario Cataldo (Ita) Team Sky
DNF Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky
DNF Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Team Sky
DNF Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
DNF Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo
DNF Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
DNF Lucas Euser (USA) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
DNF Davide Frattini (Ita) Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team
DNF Daniele Colli (Ita) Yellow Fluo
DNF Francesco Failli (Ita) Yellow Fluo
DNF Simone Ponzi (Ita) Yellow Fluo
DNF Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Yellow Fluo
DNF Fabio Taborre (Ita) Yellow Fluo