Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013

Eddy Planckert and Marc Sergeant photo:cor vos

Finally, we have Milan-Sanremo. I hope pedale.forcetta is ready to shoot some pictures, especially black and white because it will be cold and possibly wet. Throw in a little wind and a race of this distance will weed out the less hardy. Recently, but not too recently, this race would be won out of a decent size field sprint. And yet, besides Fabs winning in 2008 it does come down to a sprint finish of some size. That race was setting up for a field sprint when Cancellara bolted and no one could catch him. The solo charge to the finish just doesn’t seem to work here. It is such an interesting race because the finish is unlike any of the other monuments. Moreno Argentin lost the race because he was not as good as descender as Kelly. Getting down the Cipressa and Poggio well is not easy. The descents are tight narrow Italian roads, hairpin turns, madness. Fabs and Sagan are two excellent descenders and Sagan has a killer sprint. NIbali just won Terreno. Thor has recovered. Boonen is back with Cavendish, on the same team! Gilbert is wearing the rainbow jersey. Andy Schleck has pre-dropped out. God Damnit, if you are going to get up at some weird hour of the night to watch a race this year, this is it people.

An American has never won one of cycling’s monuments and Sunday’s race does not seem to be where it is going to happen. Tyler Farrar would have to latch onto a special train and surely Cancellara will not be towing people to the line this year. The odds of Australian riders winning the last two editions were very long but it demonstrates how exciting and unpredictable this race is.

Here is the incomplete start list, it will be updated when available. No Delgados, no whining, the betting window is now open. Get you picks in before the countdown timer goes to zero at midnight Pacific Time. The winner of this event is awarded the MSR comment badge for the remainder of the season.

Here is a little video from last year, interesting more for the behind the scenes action and the amount of bleeped out cursing.

[vsp_results id=”22700″/]

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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View Comments

asyax says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:40 am

Gossy out as well - for a Tassie rider to pull out must be pretty bloody miserable!
Deakus says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:47 am

@paolo

I think I'd rather see them call the whole thing off than carry on with a fiasco. It's like reducing a Test match to a 20 over slog..

OK how much did Sagan pay to have 2 of the climbs removed from the race..Grrrr!!!
strathlubnaig says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:47 am

I am on night shift here offshore and just catching up on things, never saw the early conditions but can only say I am shocked and stunned Boonen never got off the bus. What this will do to the hardman Belgian reputation I am not sure, but now I hear he is whining about the organizers too. Well Tom, plenty of lads did get off the bus, just sayin'
Deakus says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:49 am

@strathlubnaig

I am on night shift here offshore and just catching up on things, never saw the early conditions but can only say I am shocked and stunned Boonen never got off the bus. What this will do to the hardman Belgian reputation I am not sure, but now I hear he is whining about the organizers too. Well Tom, plenty of lads did get off the bus, just sayin'

I think there are murmurings about renaming him Swoonen??!
duck lewis says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:51 am

Lotto mounted high tech mudflaps for the conditions:
Deakus says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:52 am

Quote from Boonen, I think someone needs to have a word with him about rule #5 he has done untold damage to the Belgian reputation! "I think my decision says enough.This is partly a precaution, but also a statement to the organization. They knew long enough that there was so much snow on the road. What happens now is the fault of the organization's own fault. Have you ever wanted to bicycle through the snow ridden? There are nicer things than this. I'm completely frozen."
Dinan says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:53 am

@strathlubnaig

I am on night shift here offshore and just catching up on things, never saw the early conditions but can only say I am shocked and stunned Boonen never got off the bus. What this will do to the hardman Belgian reputation I am not sure, but now I hear he is whining about the organizers too. Well Tom, plenty of lads did get off the bus, just sayin'

I

@scaler911

@ralph

Not being able to see any video coverage of the race (suggestions for a US source???), I'm curious as to what changes to the bikes they may have made for this weather. Would you ride different tires for snowy climbs, or do you just assume that the ones you normally use will handle it? Do you need to worry about the derailleurs icing up and jamming? Is it possible to put a heated cab on the bike? Enquiring Minds want to know!

Streaming: http://sports-livez.com/sopcast/sop-3.php (with Yates common tatering)

this site offers up links in most languages to suit your needs, scroll down a bit and you'll see links to different feeds on the right: http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/7218 (sometimes you just gotta keep opening different links to find the actual race, as a lot of them will pre-empt some races for futball).

Thanks for the link. Works fine for me here on the East Coast. Better than the one I had being trying to use previously.

-Dinan
unversio says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:56 am

@Deakus

Quote from Boonen, I think someone needs to have a word with him about Rule #5 he has done untold damage to the Belgian reputation! "I think my decision says enough.This is partly a precaution, but also a statement to the organization. They knew long enough that there was so much snow on the road. What happens now is the fault of the organization's own fault. Have you ever wanted to bicycle through the snow ridden? There are nicer things than this. I'm completely frozen."

Reply to Boonen -- "Well, just remind yourself. What would Andy do? Gavia!"
Skip says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:57 am

@unversio

@Deakus

Quote from Boonen, I think someone needs to have a word with him about Rule #5 he has done untold damage to the Belgian reputation! "I think my decision says enough.This is partly a precaution, but also a statement to the organization. They knew long enough that there was so much snow on the road. What happens now is the fault of the organization's own fault. Have you ever wanted to bicycle through the snow ridden? There are nicer things than this. I'm completely frozen."

Reply to Boonen "” "Well, just remind yourself. What would Andy do? Gavia!"

For a minute there I thought you mean Andy Schleck. Maybe he asked the wrong Andy...
Dinan says:

Mar 17 2013 at 7:57 am

@Deakus

Quote from Boonen, I think someone needs to have a word with him about Rule #5 he has done untold damage to the Belgian reputation! "I think my decision says enough.This is partly a precaution, but also a statement to the organization. They knew long enough that there was so much snow on the road. What happens now is the fault of the organization's own fault. Have you ever wanted to bicycle through the snow ridden? There are nicer things than this. I'm completely frozen."

I'm not at all a fan of the whining but I can see his point. Those conditions look like pure shit. I'd be worried to ride in that as well. Yes, that statement violates Rule 5 but I have slid out numerous times in conditions like that on a solo ride. Add the competition and speed in there? No thank you...

-Dinan