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https://twitter.com/cyclist/status/1635977006243250176?t=Jd8V6R4gBV9oeQ1ESGGMfw&s=19
Guess we don't get to see Pidcock descending the Poggio then...
Pidcock must be gutted.
Nokere Koerse is on today. Just had a little cry watching the finale of the womens race.
Yep, absolute respect to Lotte Kopecky.
I see Kristen Faulkner's DSQ for having a glucose monitoring thing was upheld. Seems harsh but I don't see what else they could do. I like to see Cecilie Ludvig on the podium, but not like this!
It was pretty stupid of her though, I only follow whatever road cycling news I can get for free, but even I knew they had been banned and spotted it under her sleeve on the race footage as soon as I switched on.
Enjoying the Grand Prix de Denain footage, some beautiful cobbles and comedy crashes! 😁
Brian Smith can be a humourless bugger at times but went off on a very interesting rant about BC's prohibitive standards for races on UK soil vs. what gets held on the continent.
There's been some cracking racing this week. Almost sad to see a big rich team like UAE win at Denain today though - I feel like is should be someone from a french pro conti team crossing the line first.
Anyway, it's Milan San( )Remo on Saturday. Who else will be sitting their whole family down and forcing them to watch the whole race* from km0?
*one toilet break allowed, obvs
Depeneds on the weather.. if it's dry i'll be riding till 12ish. Then sitting down with a beer.
comedy crashes! 😁
At least it finally paid off for AG2R to wear brown kit !!
TBH I am slightly relieved Pidcock is out of San Remo. Not sure my nerves could cope with him attacking down the Poggio
YEah i don't think it'll come to that anyway as i see Pog going for it before that and hanging on.
I'd like to see VdP and WvA going 40km out as i think that's their best chance, maybe someone like a Wellens in there too for support for them. Dunno if Laporte is there for WvA but that would help him too.
I don't see it coming down to a sprint though so your Cav etc won't be there, possibly only Ewan can hold the climb bunch.
I just don't see that the climbs towards the end are hard enough for Pog to dislodge the others. He went several times on the Cipressa and Poggio last year but couldn't shake Ganna for example. It'll be more of a Pedersen, Asgreen, Turgis type rider i.e. who ever has the legs to manage a decent sprint or last minute dig off the Poggio.
Pogačar is on fine form indeed, but I imagine a small group going off from the Poggio; Alaphilippe for the win.
i see Pog going for it before that and hanging on.
He will have to pressing on the Cipressa and go full beans on Poggio, even then it will be a big ask to drop the likes of WVA and MvDP if they are on peak form. Remember he couldn't drop MVdP at Flanders last year and whilst they are shorter climbs there's a bloody load of them.
I really hope Pogacar doesn't just dominate [b]everything[/b] - it'll be really dull if he does.
Brian Smith can be a humourless bugger at times but went off on a very interesting rant about BC’s prohibitive standards for races on UK soil vs. what gets held on the continent.
What was the nasal bore saying this time?
Tailwind for the last part of the day tomorrow, which makes an early attack seem less doomed. Could this be a year for a successful Cipressa attack?
Here's a bookmark for a useful live tracker tomorrow:
https://www.ismilansanremoexcitingyet.com/
Could this be a year for a successful Cipressa attack?
No.
Ok. Attack on the turchino then.
I'm settling in for the first hour, after that it's going to have to be watching the last 90 mins or so live when back from MTB
It's a long long way
Pog's managed to have an off the bike in the neutral zone already. This could be full of drama today. Or it could be 270km of build-up.
anybody else on GCN racepass ?
Unwatchable for me currently (freezing all the time, rather than just really boring)
What was the nasal bore saying this time?
Just pointing out that BC wouldn't sanction high level pro races in the UK on narrow/twisting roads, but that every spring we're all glued to our screens watching continental equivalents.
He was bemoaning BC being too risk averse/unimaginative.
Back from my ride just in time for the last 100km...
Have I missed anything?
😉
Is there a website with a graphic showing where they are on the course? It's really stupid that GCN don't ever show such a thing.
EDIT https://www.milanosanremo.it/en/live/
Obviously 🙁
Have I missed anything?
Bit of entertainment watching Alaphillipe careering through the cars and motos to re-join the peleton descending post-Turchino. Had my heart in my mouth a couple of times!
Cavendish dropped. 🙁
It's getting very attritional now.
Ouch that's nasty.
Unprotected / unmarked road furniture.
😢
OK, that was a cracking finish!
I'm still not convinced by MSR, it does seem to be a whole load of really really slow burn followed by 10 minutes of excitement.
Edit; WTAF is Adam Blythe wearing?! (EuroSport studio). That has to have been some sort of dare, surely?
Ganna sand-bagging on the chase so he could ‘win’ second 🤔
I love the last 30 km of MSR. The first 260 km are just to soften up the legs and get rid of some me domestiques, there's no need to watch them.
WTAF is Adam Blythe wearing
Can't say I'd noticed. I may have been distracted 🤔
Tell you what, holding off that trio of racers is a heck of a feat
What a ride that was
Ganna sand-bagging on the chase so he could ‘win’ second
(he may have actually shat himself on the DH, and...) I think they'd have been "lucky" to close that gap if they'd been all-out, so maybe he was just cleverer. "Surprisingly" good sprint though, I'd agree
Bit of a relief that Pog’s usual attack was not successful- it was getting boring for him to win all the time !! Gives hope for the rest of the season.
😂
Just caught up with the highlights because apparently seeing granny for the first time in a year is more important for the kids than watching the peloton soft pedal through the Po valley.
Anyway, cracking race as always. Love the fact that Pog and Wellens gave it mega-beans up the Poggio. Love the fact that Ganna was there. Love the fact that the vans' rivalry is still alive and well. And love the fact that MvdP won in such superb style.
And just look at this:
Next week: KöBBELS
Good article from Inner Ring about how Milan-SanRemo played out:
https://inrng.com/2023/03/milan-sanremo-review-2023/
Next week: KöBBELS
Yep, back to Belgium for the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday and Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday!
That Inner Ring article seems to miss the 'moment' when Pogacar and Ganba gapped WvA and MvdP on the Poggio and WvA put in a pretty drawn out effort to close the gap, dragging MvdP up behind him. That must have emptied him before he then put in that massive chase down the other side.
MvdP showing his better racing instinct again, WvA just seems to find himself chasing and on the wrong side of breaks too often!
Horrendous crash in the Volta Catalunya this afternoon. Makes you worry about getting on your bike!!
https://twitter.com/benjinaesen/status/1637901249935814661?s=46&t=0EdQH2VaJpSkNmaw8CsUvg
Horrendous crash in the Volta Catalunya this afternoon.
Just seen it on the catch up, that was horrific. Could see how bad Cataldo was, he was unable to move. Hit that kerb hard. 🙁
It just seemed like a routine spill!!
It's the Four* Days of De Panne tomorrow. Used to be the kind of race that you'd see someone from Wanty Groupe-Gobert take a surprisingly good result but Wanty are good now and so is the line-up:
https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/oxyclean-classic-brugge-de-panne/2023/result/startlist
It's a sprtinty kind of race these days. Looks like there'll be a shootout from some big guns.
*One**
**OK, they renamed the race, but it did spend a few years being called the 4 days when it was only 2 days long.
Jeepers, that's every fast guy on the planet!