Milano-Sanremo 2017 [FULL RACE]

March 18, 2017
Milano-Sanremo 2017 [FULL RACE] – Milano – Sanremo – 291 km

The 2017 Milan–San Remo was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 18 March. It was the 108th edition of the Milan–San Remo, and the eighth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour.

Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) won an excruciatingly close photo-finish sprint on the Via Roma in Milan-San Remo, topping world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), with Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep) in third.

“After previous editions in 2013 and 2014 when I’ve been unlucky, winning Milano-San Remo is an incredible feeling,” Kwiatkowski said. “I’m thankful to my teammates, they did an incredible job today. I didn’t expect Sagan to attack on the Poggio. After he did, I expected a bunch sprint but he maintained a high speed at the front. I focused only on my own sprint. I can’t believe I’ve beaten Sagan!”

Sagan sparked the breakaway over the top of the Poggio, and was quickly joined by Kwiatkowski and Alaphilippe, two daring descenders who could keep up with the world champion’s legendary skills.

Leading the entire descent, Sagan looked to his companions to take a pull, but they only briefly obliged, leaving Sagan to do the majority of the work to hold off the hard-charging peloton. As they took the final curve and had the finish line in sight, the peloton came into view behind them, but they had left it too late.

Sagan wiggled his elbow for Kwiatkowski to pull through with 500m to go, but the Pole wisely declined, and as Sagan charged hard for the finish line, Kwiatkowski drew alongside. Sagan violently strangled his bicycle trying to squeeze out just a few more watts, but the Sky rider threw his bike to the line, snatching the elusive Milan-San Remo victory from the Bora-hansgrohe rider.

Alaphilippe finished narrowly behind for third place, and the peloton crossed the line only five seconds later.

“The only thing missing today was a little bit of co-operation from some other riders,” Sagan said. “But it’s okay. I did my bit and I’m happy with what I did. That’s cycling. You race for 300km and you can win by a little or lose by a little. I did my best.”

How it unfolded

The race got off promptly under sunny skies in Milan. Inspired by the good weather and not fearing the nearly 300 kilometers they were facing, ten riders took off after only five kilometers: Nico Denz (AG2R La Mondiale), Mattia Frapporti (Androni-Sidermec), Mirco Maestri (Bardiani-CSF), William Clarke and Tom Skujins (Cannondale-Drapac), Ivan Rovny (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Alan Marangoni (Nippo-Fantini), Umberto Poli (Novo Nordisk), Federico Zurlo (UAE Team Emirates), and Julen Amezqueta (Wilier-Selle Italia).

The gap stayed between four and five minutes, with FDJ, Bora-Hansgrohe and QuickStep sharing the work at the head of the peloton.

With about 120km to go, the gap started dropping dramatically, hitting 2:20 at the 100km marker. Quick-Step Floors had moved to the front of the field and picked up the pace, a move which some of the other teams seemed to question.

The peloton finally eased up a bit, not wanting to catch the group too soon, and allowed the gap to come back up to about 2:45. Bora-Hansgrohe showed up at the head of the field to help keep an eye on things.

The gap bounced up and down but the ten in the breakaway calmly continued on their way, working well together. With 60km left, they had less than two minutes. Unfortunately, as the gap disappeared, so did the sun, with clouds increasingly rolling n.

The first action came with 45km to go. AG2R, at the race without a sprinter, sent Alexis Gougeard up the road. He got a gap on the peloton but was unable to make up ground on the leaders and was soon back in the field.

That lead group started falling apart with 39km to go. Poli, at 20 the youngest rider in the race, was the first to drop back, soon followed by Frapporti and Zurlo.

The breakaway and peloton flew down the Capo Berto, with the gap dropping under a minute. Katusha gathered at the front of the field.

With the Cipressa beckoning, the pace kicked up again, with Bahrain-Merida leading the charge. With its 5.6km length and a maximum gradient of 9%, it has in the past played a decisive role. Today it saw the end of the breakaway, which was caught shortly after the start of the climb. Rovny, Clarke, and Amezqueta held out longest but they too were doomed.

A handful of riders jumped on the way up but were doomed when Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) joined them. He was too dangerous and the field pulled them back. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) gave it a try as well, being briefly joined by Androni’s Mattia Cattaneo. Sunweb then had Dumoulin and Simon Geschke at the head of the field pushing the tempo to drop as many sprinters as possible.

Bahrain-Merida led the rapid descent on the narrow and curving road. As they hit the flat, Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) took off, followed closely by Philippe Gilbert (QuickStep). A group of about 10 built up a small gap before Sagan and Bora-Hansgrohe led the chase to catch them, and then remained at the front. At the back, riders who had been dropped began catching on again.

Tom Boonen, in his last Milan-San Remo, took over the lead work in service of his teammates.

The Poggio, the last climb, saw Sky at the front, but Dumoulin again popped up at the front. The Dutchman pushed a gruelling pace before leaving the work to Sky and Sagan.

Shortly before the summit, at one of the steepest sections, World Champion Sagan took off. Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) followed. The trio flew down the descent, taking every risk on the tight hairpin curves, arriving at the bottom with 16 seconds and 2.5 km left.

Trek-Segafredo rode desperately to close the gap and bring John Degenkolb into position but they had no chance, and five seconds after Kwiatkowski took out a surprise victory, the peloton was led to the line by Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin).

Results :
1 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky 7:08:39
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
3 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors
4 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:05
5 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Quick-Step Floors
6 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ
7 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo
8 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
9 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
10 Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-Scott
11 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-Scott
12 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
13 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
14 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
15 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
16 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-Scott
17 Ben Swift (GBr) Team UAE Emirates
18 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
19 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
20 Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
21 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
22 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
23 Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team
24 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
25 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
26 Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
27 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-Scott
28 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
29 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
30 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
31 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Wilier Triestina
32 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Dimension Data
33 Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
34 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
35 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team
36 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-Scott
37 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac
38 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
39 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
40 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Emirates
41 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
42 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
43 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
44 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
45 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-Scott
46 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
47 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
48 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
49 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
50 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
51 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
52 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-Scott
53 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
54 Davide Cimolai (Ita) FDJ 0:00:18
55 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:20
56 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:31
57 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Team UAE Emirates
58 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
59 Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:53
60 Matteo Busato (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:01:08
61 Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Emirates 0:01:35
62 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
63 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team
64 Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Team Sky
65 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
66 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
67 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
68 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:45
69 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:25
70 Grega Bole (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:02:28
71 Eduard Grosu (Rom) Nippo – Vini Fantini 0:03:52
72 Koen De Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
73 Michael Morkov (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
74 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
75 Ivan Savitskiy (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:03:55
76 Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina
77 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team
78 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Katusha-Alpecin
79 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
80 Martin Elmiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team
81 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Emirates
82 Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale-Drapac
83 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal
84 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
85 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
86 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
87 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Sunweb
88 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
89 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
90 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Wilier Triestina
91 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
92 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
93 Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac
94 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
95 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
96 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
97 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
98 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
99 Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:59
100 Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin
101 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 0:05:24
102 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
103 Alexey Tsatevich (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
104 David Lozano (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
105 Raffaello Bonusi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
106 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
107 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac
108 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF
109 Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
110 Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF
111 Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
112 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) BMC Racing Team
113 Juraj Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
114 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) Katusha-Alpecin
115 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
116 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors
117 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale-Drapac
118 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
119 Nuno Bico (Por) Movistar Team
120 Jorge Arcas Peña (Spa) Movistar Team
121 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
122 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
123 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
124 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
125 Silvan Dillier (Swi) BMC Racing Team
126 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
127 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
128 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF
129 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
130 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
131 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Team UAE Emirates
132 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal
133 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
134 Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team
135 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Emirates
136 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
137 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Orica-Scott
138 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
139 Julen Amezqueta (Spa) Wilier Triestina
140 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:08:34
141 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
142 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
143 Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo
144 Borut Bozic (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
145 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Movistar Team
146 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb
147 Alexander Porsev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
148 Twan Castelijns (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
149 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
150 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
151 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) FDJ
152 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
153 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
154 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
155 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
156 William Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac
157 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Wilier Triestina
158 Andrea Palini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
159 Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
160 Truls Korsaeth (Nor) Astana Pro Team
161 Dimitri Claeys (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
162 Jack Bauer (NZl) Quick-Step Floors 0:09:23
163 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina 0:10:44
164 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
165 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
166 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
167 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
168 Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
169 Thomas Scully (NZl) Cannondale-Drapac
170 Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data
171 Nikolay Trusov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
172 Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
173 Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:14:15
174 Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
175 Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky
176 Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
177 Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
178 Miles Scotson (Aus) BMC Racing Team
179 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Bora-Hansgrohe
180 Artur Ershov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
181 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data
182 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
183 Fabio Calabria (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
184 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
185 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
186 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
187 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Sunweb
188 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Sunweb
189 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
190 Rik van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Novo Nordisk 0:16:40
191 Federico Zurlo (Ita) Team UAE Emirates 0:17:22
192 Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
193 Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
194 Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
195 Brian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
DNF Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Rick Zabel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin