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.

“3 guys on a two seater sofa” 😁

SOUND ON! 😆❤️😘🛋️
Here’s the reaction from me & @nedboulting to the @Milano_Sanremo ‘three-guys-on-a-two-seater-sofa’ moment which, of course, could only happen in our beautiful sport. ❤️#MSR pic.twitter.com/rjWasesjWz

— Matt Stephens (@RealStephens) March 18, 2023

😂

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:

The Moment Milan-Sanremo Was Won

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!!

Update on Dario Cataldo from Trek-Segafredo. ⤵️

Fractured left femoral head & right acetabulum (the 'ball & socket' joint of the hip), two transverse process fractures of the lumbar spine without neurological impact, multiple broken ribs with a bilateral pneumothorax and a… https://t.co/ItmTPtZfyg

— Benji Naesen (@BenjiNaesen) March 20, 2023

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!

I’m calling echelons tomorrow lots of echelons 😀

looks like a crazy day of racing!

Looks like LOVELY weather. Have had to turn the heating up just to watch.

There’s a front group of about 20 riders but I wouldn’t bet on all 20 making it to the finish in these conditions.

qst team bus is going to be a tad tense at this rate !

That was quite a race!

Philipsen is proving to be quite a versatile chap. Sure, he was one of the favourites to win, but not in a race like that.

A lot of DNF! Didn’t see any of the race, just been reading the reports.

it was pretty brutal the peloton was about 70-80 with 80kish to go (when it had just come together again) only to be smashed to pieces within a couple of minutes.

That was some heroic racing worth watching for those who missed it. Seeing in the chase group big guys like Demare and Groenewegen fight for a couple of K’s to get back on, get unhinged on a speed bump(bridge) repeat chase get back bridge repeat and that was only the chase group.

Impressive from Jasper thought he might be digging his own grave but he seemed to have near endless energy today, well done chap?

Brilliant race, a proper Belgian spring classic. As someone said above, there’ll have been some choice language on the Quick Step bus after.

It’s the Four* Days of De Panne tomorrow.

It’s part of the charm of this part of the season, isn’t it. Races that you’ve watched for decades but they change their names so regularly that they make no sense or you’ve forgotten what it’s called this year. 😀

Jeepers, that’s every fast guy on the planet!

But it’s NOT the unofficial Sprinters World Champs. Despite the fact that the first sprinter interviewed – and Robbie McEwan – referred to it in exactly that way. 😀

To my shame, I wasn’t aware that there was a Women’s Brugge de Panne race (yesterday) but the results popped up in my news feed.

Won by British rider Pfeiffer Georgi, her first World Tour win!

https://www.bicycling.com/racing/a43401196/classic-brugge-de-panne-2023-womens-results/

E3 Saxo Classic later today, a warm up for Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday which I’ll be unable to watch because I’m working on the UK answer to a Belgian Classic, the CiCLE Classic in Rutland (Junior Men’s race in the morning, Women’s Race in the afternoon, both British Cycling National Series events).

https://www.cyclingstage.com/e3-saxo-classic-2023/route-e3-2023/

Bit gutted this weekend. This time last year we were there and watching it from the finish line (bar) and enjoying chips and beers. Then cycling back to Wevelgem via the river and a few more bars 😀
The weather looks a lot less friendly than last year which is the only saving grace for that.

E3 Harelbeke today (or whatever it’s called now)

E3 Harelbeke today (or whatever it’s called now)

You missed my link just above…?!

https://www.cyclingstage.com/e3-saxo-classic-2023/route-e3-2023/

Great win by Georgi, horrible heavy looking crash for Alice Barnes and Julie De Wilde. Fractured radius for Alice, scapula for Julie.

You missed my link just above…?!

I did…

should be a fun watch (possible not so much for the riders 😀 ) 20mph SW gusting to 40+

The weather is looking suitably grim isn’t it…

good support out even with the weather!

game on !!!