Milano-Sanremo 2022 [LAST 10 KM]

March 19, 2022

Milano-Sanremo 2022 – Milano – Sanremo : 239 km

Since its first edition in 1907, Milano-Sanremo has marked the turning of winter into spring and the start of the much-anticipated ‘Spring Classics’ season. This symbolic transition from winter to spring has earned the race its popular Italian nickname ‘La Classicissima di primavera’, or ‘The Spring Classic’. As well as marking a transition between seasons, Milano-Sanremo also marks the first Monument of the year and the longest of the lot at a staggering 298km. Unlike the other Monuments on the cycling calendar, this race favours the sprinters and since the turn of the millennium has seen 12 editions end in a mass bunch sprint. To maintain its reputation as one of the most prestigious classics and uphold its rich, 115-year history, Milano-Sanremo’s chief organisers have elected to send the riders on an almost identical, 298km-long route year after year. The race starts in the historic centre of Milan before heading south to the idyllic Ligurian Coast. It’s along this coastline that the race really begins to heat up, especially as the final two climbs – the Cipressa and the Poggio – draw ever closer. These two iconic climbs aren’t too much of a challenge in isolation, but when strung together and placed at the end of an almost 300km-long race they become two of the toughest climbs that the riders will have to face during the Spring Classics season. It’s on these climbs where we often see a select group of riders spring away, desperate to try and prevent a bunch sprint. Once these inevitable attacks launch, it’s up to the sprinters teams to try and reel them back in before the pan-flat finish on the iconic Via Roma finishing straight.

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) took the biggest win of his career at Milan-San Remo, converting a daring attack on the descent of the Poggio into a solo victory on the Via Roma at the end of a breathless finale.

Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) took second place, just two seconds later, having jumped away from the small chasing group in the final metres. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) led that group of just six men home to take the final podium spot on his 2022 season debut.

Mohorič was part of a group of just under 30 men who were at the front of the race on the Poggio, a shockingly small number after UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma had blown the race apart on the Cipressa.

Multiple attacks from Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on the relatively shallow inclines of the Poggio couldn’t provoke a race-winning move, though he and several other favourites had a small gap over the top.

On the way down it was Mohorič who made his move, utilising his impressive descending skills – and a dropper seatpost normally found in mountain biking – to create a gap. Despite a chase featuring multiple big names just seconds behind, the 27-year-old held on to take victory.

“I was thinking about this race for the whole winter,” Mohorič said after the race. “The team came up with the idea of using a dropper post because this race suits me pretty well and it has a descent at the end.

“I knew that if I could train properly and be in a good enough condition to not be dropped on the Poggio, that I have a chance of doing my best descent and risking a little bit but maybe being able to hang on for the win.

“I was in perfect condition after I was ill in February, but then unfortunately I had quit a big crash when [Julian] Alaphilippe crashed in Strade Bianche and I hurt my knee pretty bad and I was off my bike for three or four days.

“But I never stopped believing – I said if we worked so hard this winter and set up the bike, then we need to make the best of it. I did a lot of physio every night and every morning and I never stopped believing. I did some basic training to keep as much condition as possible. Today I’m here – I wasn’t going super well but it was enough to stay with the best on the Poggio. I just went all-in and I can’t believe. I’m without words.”

How it unfolded
The 113th edition of Milan-San Remo began in the historic Vigorelli velodrome in Milan, checking off all the usual points on the first Monument of the season. First up on the 293-kilometre route came the early flat run across the Po plain, then the gradual climb of the Passo del Turchino and the dive down to the Ligurian coast.

Later would come the three Capi climbs, and the finishing two hills of the Cipressa and Poggio before the fast and technical descent down into San Remo and the finish on the Via Roma.

After a 9.8-kilometre neutral zone from the Vigorelli to the traditional starting point of the Via della Chiesa Rossa, the flag dropped, and a small group of riders immediately jumped away on the attack.

Right away, the group were let go, with heavy Italian ProTeam representation at the front. Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli put Filippo Tagliano and Ricardo Zurita in the move, while Eolo-Kometa had Samuele Rivi and Diego Sevilla, and Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè’s Alessandro Tonelli joined them.

Yevgeniy Gidich and Artyom Zakharov (Astana Qazaqstan), and Filippo Conca (Lotto Soudal) were the two WorldTour representatives in the eight-man move, who were quickly given three minutes’ advantage by the peloton.

Several major teams began the work at the head of the peloton shortly afterwards, with Jumbo-Visma (for Wout van Aert), UAE Team Emirates (for Tadej Pogačar), and Groupama-FDJ (for Arnaud Démare) among those involved at the front.

Jumbo-Visma’s Jos Van Emden was a notable name controlling things at the front, putting in a huge stint of work for over 200 kilometres as the peloton controlled the gap to the break, which hit a maximum of seven minutes after the Turchino.

As ever in Milan-San Remo – barring the rare memorable exception – there was little drama in the race as the peloton raced south towards the Ligurian coast west of Genoa. With the opening hours run at an average of just over 45 kph, things would only get quicker at that point as the east-west wind provided a tailwind boost for the riders.

After four hours of racing, and little real action, the average speed sat at 44.2 kph, just a touch slower than the record average speed of 45.8 kph in 1990. Sure enough, the pace upped as riders raced along the coastal road, with the peloton dragging the gap down to five minutes as they approached the first of the Capi.

On the second of the hills, the Capo Cervo, the break’s advantage had fallen to 4:20, while at the Capo Berta, the first point in the day riders switch into the small chainring, it was down to four minutes. Heading into the Cervo, the breakaway riders started to attack each other as Zakharov and the two Androni riders were left behind with Eolo-Kometa pushing on up ahead.

By the top of the climb, Conca had dropped and returned, while in the peloton Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) was surprisingly distanced, indicating to the TV moto that he was finished. Conca was done for good shortly after the descent, pulling over and dismounting suffering from severe cramp to leave four men leading the race onto the Cipressa, three minutes up on the peloton.

Two minutes was the gap as the break hit the Cipressa with 27 kilometres to run. Jumbo-Visma, Alpecin-Fenix, Ineos Grenadiers and Bahrain Victorious led the peloton onto the climb, while Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) was battling back after suffering an unlucky mechanical issue just a few kilometres earlier.

Out front, Tonelli and Rivi were the last men standing as UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma set a fearsome pace up the climb, shedding sprinters as they went. At the top, 40 seconds separated the two escapees and a peloton of fewer than 30 riders.

Tonelli and Rivi survived until the Poggio but would only experience the opening metres before being swallowed up, their adventure over after a mammoth 285 kilometres. Once again, UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma led the charge.

Pogačar made his first move at eight kilometres to go, turning around to find Van Aert and Van der Poel on his wheel before jumping again a few hundred metres later. Further back, a crash on a corner held up a chunk of the group, leaving around 20 men up front as Pogačar and Roglič traded accelerations.

Søren Kragh Andersen (Team DSM) jumped shortly before the top, leading the race over the Poggio with Van der Poel, Pogačar, and Van Aert right behind him and the remainder of the peloton close.

Mohorič took the opportunity to show off his supreme descending skills on the way down, eking out a gap to the rest. He hit the flat finishing run alone, but just a handful of seconds up.

It looked for all the world that he would be caught by a collectively strong chase group in the final kilometres, but the bridging move just never came.

Turgis came closest, powering away from the chase group in the final kilometre, but the Frenchman wasn’t able to get there. In the end, after six-and-a-half hours of racing, it was the Slovenian who took the win, having the time to celebrate as he crossed the line.

Results :
1 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 6:27:49
2 Anthony Turgis (Fra) TotalEnergies 0:00:02
3 Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix
4 Michael Matthews (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
5 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
6 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
7 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team DSM
8 Wout Van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
9 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:05
10 Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:11
11 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
12 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
13 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Movistar Team
14 Florian Senechal (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
15 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
16 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
17 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
18 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech 0:00:21
19 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
20 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
21 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel-Premier Tech 0:00:26
22 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:59
23 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:05
24 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:09
25 Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-EasyPost 0:01:13
26 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:01:14
27 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
28 Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
29 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
30 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroen Team
31 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
32 Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis
33 Luka Mezgec (Slo) BikeExchange-Jayco
34 Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Soudal
35 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
36 Owain Doull (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost
37 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Cofidis
38 Mikkel Honoré (Den) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
39 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
40 Alex Kirsch (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
41 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
42 Daniel Oss (Ita) TotalEnergies
43 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
44 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
45 Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team
46 Diego Rosa (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
47 Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
48 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
49 Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) TotalEnergies
50 Marco Haller (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
51 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
52 Bob Jungels (Lux) AG2R Citroen Team
53 Andreas Leknessund (Nor) Team DSM
54 Cesare Benedetti (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
55 Luke Durbridge (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
56 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
57 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
58 Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
59 Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
60 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
61 William Barta (USA) Movistar Team
62 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team DSM 0:01:22
63 Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned) Team DSM 0:01:50
64 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
65 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
66 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
67 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:02:41
68 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 0:02:53
69 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
70 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Bahrain Victorious 0:03:06
71 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel-Premier Tech
72 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:55
73 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team 0:04:30
74 Samuele Rivi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team 0:05:26
75 Clément Russo (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
76 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
77 Connor Swift (GBr) Arkea-Samsic
78 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
79 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroen Team
80 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech 0:06:01
81 Edvald Boasson-Hagen (Nor) TotalEnergies
82 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
83 Matthias Brändle (Aut) Israel-Premier Tech
84 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
85 Luke Rowe (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
86 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
87 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-EasyPost
88 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
89 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
90 Frederik Frison (Bel) Lotto Soudal
91 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
92 Peter Sagan (Svk) TotalEnergies
93 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
94 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
95 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel-Premier Tech
96 Davide Gabburo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
97 Davide Bais (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
98 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
99 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Jumbo-Visma
100 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
101 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
102 Silvan Dillier (Swi) Alpecin-Fenix
103 Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
104 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
105 Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
106 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
107 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
108 Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
109 Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fra) Cofidis
110 Davide Villella (Ita) Cofidis 0:06:47
111 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bahrain Victorious 0:08:31
112 Michael Gogl (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix 0:09:23
113 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli 0:09:57
114 Alexander Konychev (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:10:15
115 Jonathan Milan (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
116 Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
117 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
118 Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
119 Mikaël Cherel (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
120 Omar El Gouzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
121 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
122 Romain Combaud (Fra) Team DSM
123 Alex Edmondson (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
124 Lawson Craddock (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco
125 Florian Vermeersch (Bel) Lotto Soudal
126 Leonardo Basso (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
127 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
128 Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
129 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) Cofidis
130 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team DSM
131 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost 0:11:15
132 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education-EasyPost
133 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
134 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
135 James Shaw (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost
136 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
137 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
138 Julien Simon (Fra) TotalEnergies
139 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
140 Rein Taaramäe (Est) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
141 Danny van Poppel (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
142 Ricardo Zurita Garcia (Spa) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
143 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
144 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Lotto Soudal
145 Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal
146 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) TotalEnergies
147 Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education-EasyPost
148 Cameron Meyer (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
149 Miles Scotson (Aus) Groupama-FDJ 0:11:36
150 Clément Davy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:12:16
151 Romain Hardy (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
152 Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli 0:13:13
153 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
154 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Jumbo-Visma
155 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
156 Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
157 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Cofidis
158 Jos van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:20:31
159 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Team DSM 0:21:56
DNF Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Didier Norberto Merchan Cardona (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
DNF Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Thomas Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
DNF Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNS Robert Stannard (Aus) Alpecin-Fenix