Road Bike Racing - San Remo

Who is your pick for Milan-San Remo? I think Chipo again.:beer:

That would be awesome! I'll do some reading and I'll let you know who my pick is.

If it comes down to a field sprint, I'd put my money on Cipo as well, but I wouldn't count out Di Luca or Bettini either. Bettini nearly won it last year when he attacked on the Poggio, and I think that he or Di Luca have what it takes to perhaps pull off such a stunt - maybe Rebellin to a lesser degree as well since he went well in Paris Nice.

I think I'll be listing the top contenders as:

Bettini
Cipollini
Freire
McEwen
Zabel
Petacchi
Cook
DiLuca
O'Grady
Museeuw (Yes I know he is supposed to work for Bettini)

My members can pick two of the above and four more from the remainder of the field. I agree with Maurizio that Rebellin is a good wild card pick. I expect him to be near the front but not to win it. I don't think he can get clear on the Poggio and I'm sure he can't win a field sprint.

There could be great representation from The Land Down Under.

Cipollini, Freire or Zabel.

McEwen would be and interesting guess, he sure ripped things up last year. Do you guys think he has what it takes to win San Remo??

I'm wondering if maybe Zabel will win, he seemed to come in second a few times last year, and maybe that will light a hotter fire under his butt this year.

Definatly Super Mario!!!:)

And it would be super special as he say's to win it in the World Champions kit!!


Go Mario!!!!!



Benjamin

Cipo, Freire, Zabel, diLuca, Bettini ,all possibilities.

Ditto wabbit's choices. It's gonna be real tough for Mario... everybody's gonna be watching him. Bettini is my favorite "surprise" winner.

Good point Roadbuzz, Cipo will be watched and marked, but if he can get his team all there in the end, then the lead out will be there, and all the others still have to come from behind him, and if he's there at the end, then he'll be extra motivated especially since it's his b-day and everything else, it should be really interesting though!..


Benjamin

Yeah, that has pretty much been the way it goes for Mario...His team leads out and everybody else fights for his wheel. If his train gets it going fast enough it is almost impossible to come around him and having his wheel just gives someone a one bike length deficit to overcome. But can he hold his team together and line them up after the Poggio?

If it is a wild free-for-all, I look for Freire or McEwen to come through. They are the best without an organized lead out.

my bet is the big show will be between Cipo and
McEwen. But I don't think McEwan has the goods to beat
Super Mario in a sprint if Lombardi et al lead him out.
So I'm guessing the Lion King again.

Ciao
Marty

It doesn´t matter if Cipo is watched and guarded. He showed is strenght at the Giro and at the WC...
When he´s in good shape it´s almost impossible to beat him.

Van Petegem is out and Mario MAY not ride (he is feeling under the weather).

Now this event really has me curious. Would Mario be playing games with the other riders? A little gamesmanship? It wouldn't surprise me after his "retirement" last year.

I got an email today from Procycling that says he(Cipo) is having "intstinal" problems. I wonder if he is playing games?!?!?

last I heard yesterday Cipo is definately racing...

My money is on Di Luca...lets see what happens on the Cipressa, before the Domination of Zabel, groups would slip away on the climb :D

buut, if its a group sprint...Cipo all the way!

Bettini wins in a three man sprint (one other was his teammate).

I think that was a great strategy. He had a teammate help him make the lead stick after an attack on the Poggio.

wow...Bettini cries over everything...

He wins: He's balling

He loses: He's balling

haha...

Bartoli looks like Stallone...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2003/mar03/milansanremo/BartolieBettini.jpg

Coppi , of course he bawls. He's Italian!

Bettini...didn´t think of him. I thought Milan-San Remo is too tough for a guy like him - awsome !
But Cipo won the sprint for the 4th rank, ahead of Freire and Zabel.
(Those three were my guess)

I thought of Bettini, but was sure it would be a sprinter. Oh well, had it been a bunch sprint, cipo would have won. However, it seems he had no hard feelings and was glad bettini won, remembering how they had worked together in the World Champs last year! Bettini helped him get that rainbow jersey!

I've heard Bettini has a pretty good sprint for a non-specialist. The result surprised me... how often is it that a race with a flat finish isn't won by a sprinter? It's amazing that the breakaway group of 4, then 3 was able to maintain their lead with the peloton giving chase.

roadbuzz,

It isn't just the finish that determines whether the race will be a bunch sprint, but also what comes before the finish. Are there enough hills to allow the other riders to drop the sprinters by enough to stay clear to the finish? That has been one of the interesting issues with this event: The Poggio allows riders to get a small gap but usually not enough to hold to the finish.

I believe that the difference this year was that Bettini went over the Poggio with a teammate who was willing to bury himself to get Bettini safely to the line, knowing that he would then "settle" for third. Had these three riders been from three different teams they very well may have been caught because they wouldn't work together well enough.

And yes, Bettini has an incredible sprint for a non-specialist.

When the "run in" to the finish is totally flat for miles, the teams with sprinters will dial up the pace so high that nobody can possibly attack. If the group had come over the Poggio together you would have seen that this year, as we usually do in this event.

Right, easy! The trick is being able to stay away. And when a machine like Telekom decides it's time to reel in the break-aways, it can be an awesome thing to see.

I guess the summit of Poggio is about 5 km from the finish, which ain't much, and the fact that they were clear of the peloton worked in their favor on the descent. I had the impression the run in was longer.

Granted, it's a team sport, and few win by themselves. But, hey, don't discount Bettini's effort. He's not a climbing specialist (any more than a sprinter), but he does a respectable job. I didn't see it, but from the online coverage, Bettini definitely did his share.* And, looking at the photos on the Graham Watson web-site, either he was suffering from hemerhoids (sp?) or he was giving it all he had.

*A tangent, possibly worthy of its own thread. What does a domestique do on a climb? He can (A) be a decoy rabbit and burn out the competition on the approach and base, (B) he can pace the leader, (C) provide a draft? On a steep climb, I don't know how much of factor that is. (D) Moral support? What else? My guess is (B) is the most significant. At least it sure helps me climbing. But I can't say why.

nice pic of Bettini

I guess that's Paolini in the background, arms raised in honor of his team mate (dude, you were third!).