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″/]
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@ChrisO
My Molteni cap did a sterling job of keeping the rain out of my eyes today, it also traps water once wet which then warms up (little like a wet suit). I can't remember who said this (maybe the prophet or the badger) "A wet and frozen cap is better than no cap at all"
Chavenel abandons.
Isn't there a story about some Belgian rider on his way to the Ronde or Liege in utterly filthy weather - snow and sleet so bad that they can barely see through the car windscreen - when they see a cyclist, barely visible, riding at the side of the road, and it's Eddy Merckx riding to the race.
These guys want all the races to be the same - I can understand why, so they can plan and train and so on. But one of the great things about the history of the sport is that sometimes all those plans get totally fucked by weather and other things you can't control.
If they don't like it then fine, it wasn't your year, pull out and come back next time, but don't fucking moan about it.
And if the conditions are dangerous then ride to suit them. At the end of the day the person best able to cope with it all will be the person who wins - that's what it's all about.
I completely understand the disappointment over Boonen's DNF by fans but lets be realistic here. MSR isn't a goal for Boonen so why take unnecessary risks , yes, he's paid millions which is precisely why risking his major goals to ride in the snow for a while is not very smart. How many of you have ridden a road bike in conditions like that? It's next to impossible and if you were looking a few weeks into the future to win Flanders and Roubaix you'd probably think twice as well.
That said, the riders who do well and win will have a legendary tale to tell.
@ChrisO
+ a zillion.
@Marko
It's not the pulling out Marko, it's the whining I think people are objecting to.
@Marko At his age (32), he is registering a fail (a void) right before Flanders and Roubaix.
@Deakus
Hampston on the Gavio anyone??? Hinault on LBL? Boonen, say it isn't so!!!
@ChrisO I second that point. I have no problem with deciding that winning this race isn't worth the risks, but given the history of the sport and the sort of conditions people have slogged through in the past it hardly seems worth whinging on about. If it's not safe to do 60kph in the snow, do a speed that is safe. If somebody can keep up that speed over the entire course, then I guess they deserve to win.
Meanwhile, I'm also sitting inside and typing on the Intertubes, not sliding down the Italian countryside.
@starclimber
Nice!