Road Bike Racing - Milan-San Remo

The first of cycling's five monuments to be run this year. With a lot of riders in great form, it should be a great race.

Can Zabel do 5?

As much as I'd like Zabel to win #5 I'm not sure if he's on form right now.He is a wily rider though. I think Bettini wins if he gets away before the Poggio & you can't bet against Pettachi in a bunch finish. How about Vandenbrouke as a dark horse?

Glad you posted this early, Laggard. Hard to pick a winner in this race. Quite a few riders are on form, and the Italians always want to win here, so I think there are going to be a lot of elbows at the finish.

VDB is a top pick for me. I think he will press it on the Poggio with Bettini, DiLuca, Freire, Vino, Zabel and others. Freire can jump up the hills. Sorry to see Boogerd is opting out of this race. He was looking good. I think Petegem may sit on his hands here, but you never know. Planckaert, Vainsteins, Astarloa, Hincapie and Heeswijk are also possibilities. If Armstrong makes it to the Poggio, I think he will consider his job done. Celestino dropped out of Tirreno-Adriatico on the last stage. I don't know why, but he's been hiding so I don't think we'll see him at the finish. Bartoli looks like he's waiting for Belgium. He has the strong team support he likes, so he could surprise. Petacchi is obviously sprinting well, but if somebody(VDB, Vino, or Bettini) lights a real fire on the Poggio, will he be able to keep up? Telekom and Fassa look real good in this race. Vino and VDB each have a top sprinter to set up.

It all depends on who gets over the Poggio in the front group. Once they're over, they shouldn't be caught. I think VDB looks very good.

As usual, thanks to Laggard for the relevant post.

I like what I'm hearing. The usual suspects should a sprint finish happen with the standouts in GC, from both Tirreno and Paris Nice, capable of making the race on the climbs.

I don't see a sprint this year.

A large number of Ardennes specialists (Bettini, Vandenbroucke, Bartoli, Rebellin) are coming to this race with killer form. Add Vinokourov to this mix and there is no reason why this race should end in a bunch sprint. The race should be blown wide open on the climbs.

Here's to hoping...

don't count out the oldman.. i mean the lion king. he says he's 150% ready and i'm sure wants to redeem himself for 2003's lack-luster season. could it be 2002 all over again? i best not hold my breath.

Bartoli. He is gunning and looks really good. The parcourse suits him and he knows MSR well. I'll be rooting for him.

Pettachi is good but Paris-Tours suits him more than this.

VDB is obviously a favorite but in a 2-up, I gotta give it to il Grillo.

Too many strong riders in a race that's hard to predict.

Bartoli pulled out of Paris-Nice due to some leg pain. He says he's ok.

Should be the usual cast of characters. Hopefully the race blows apart on the Poggio.

VDB looked great at Paris-Nice. Bettini is in as good a form as ever and has to be a favorite to be somewhere on the podium. Rebellin also had a good PN though he kinda dissapeared in the end. Vino is the rider quite a few people are picking to win.

Does this race suit Millar? Does he have the explosive power to attack on a climb like the Poggio?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2003/mar03/milansanremo/FS022.jpg

Paolini attacking on the Poggio. Guess who's right behind him.

The first of cycling's five monuments to be run this year. With a lot of riders in great form, it should be a great race.

Can Zabel do 5?

Hmmm, after review, it doesn't look like OLN is covering the race. Once again, reruns of shows featuring fishing, shotguns and RVs are more popular than live coverage of one of cycling's premier events.

I'm shocked. :rolleyes:

Anywho, for what it's worth, my pick is Vinokourov. He's on great form, and his motivation is high. If it comes down to a sprint finish, I have to go with Petacchi. However, don't count out the new Postal sprinter, Max van Heeswijk. He is certainly on form, and is my darkhorse pick.

OLN - shame on you!

OLN never had it listed.

Pettachi's on form and if he can hang in there during the inevitable attack on the Poggio, he's got a great chance of winning.

I think VDB is gonna go for it. He is really hungry,
rides for an Italian team and NEEDS to do well.
As Bobke said he's on his last 2nd chance.
I think OLN showed MSR last year after the race
on their Thurs night lineup Hope they do so again
this year.
Marty

VDB has to go for it or die trying. The contract he signed, as I understand it, is that he does not get a paycheck until he hits 500 UCI points.
Still with that said I would like to see Cipo win a big one before he retires.

Does anyone have any info about the climbs in the race?

I found a race profile but its very basic. I have no idea how tough those climbs are.

The race has finished in a bunch sprint for the last 6 or so years, right? (besides 2003)

I guess the Poggio is a 3.7 km climb with an average grade of 3-4%

http://www.kings5.freeserve.co.uk/2003altimetry.jpg

Does anyone have any info about the climbs in the race?

I found a race profile but its very basic. I have no idea how tough those climbs are.

The race has finished in a bunch sprint for the last 6 or so years, right? (besides 2003)

I guess the Poggio is a 3.7 km climb with an average grade of 3-4%


Normally, the race's climbs are not big enough to split the field, so the race usually finishes as a bunch sprint. This is however one of the longest if not the longest Classic at ~300km(287), and coming so early in the season, the little hills can have an effect. Bettini's sprint victory over Celestino was the first time a break had succeeded since 1996, I believe. In 1992, Moreno Argentin managed to escape alone at the top of the Poggio, and it looked like he was going to win a solo victory, but Sean Kelly took his brakes off, and bouncing off the stone walls lining the descent of the Poggio caught Argentin 1km from the finish, sat on his wheel till the 500m mark, then burned Argentin in the sprint. I believe Furlan's victory in '94 was also a solo victory.
Poulidor won alone. Dancelli won alone.

http://www.ciclomaniac.com/altimetria.asp?ID=Passo+del+Turchino+-+da+Ovada&racetype=climb

Passo del Turchino isn't as tough as it looks. 15 miles but only a 1.4% climb with a 5.7% max.

The '92 MSR was a great race that I would love to have on tape.

http://www.ciclomaniac.com/altimetria.asp?ID=Passo+del+Turchino+-+da+Ovada&racetype=climb

Passo del Turchino isn't as tough as it looks. 15 miles but only a 1.4% climb with a 5.7% max.

The '92 MSR was a great race that I would love to have on tape.

I have it. I've only watched about 10 times.

No Armstong this year. He has just announced his non-attendance. I agree that Vinokurov is the man to beat (even if Lance were there). He is really well on form and will mark every move by folks like Bettini. If they can make a break stick this year it is Vinokurov. In a mass sprint I like van Heeswijk. He has shown some really strong stuff early this year. So unusual for Postal to have a real sprinter.

Milan -San Remo doesn't have to be a sprinter's race...but it's length at the start of the year encourages cautious teams.

Fignon won twice with long breakaways. A classy all-rounder with courage can confound the sprinters ....not sure who best fits that description at present. Plenty of good riders, not enough Fignons or Kellys............

Although I said VDB I have to state I am impressed
with Van Heeswijk. He could be a dark horse winner here,
and I don't think he will be as marked as a rider like
Bettini, Vdb etc.

marty

OLN never had it listed.

Yup - so true, but so sad. Anywho, I just signed up for RAI. It looks like I'll be watching the race tomorrow no thanks to the OLN -the bass and trout network.

What is RAI and how does one go about signing up? Thanks.

RAI is italian tv station. I have no idea how one
signs up for it.
I did watch it when I was in Toronto, good coverage
but I couldn't understand a word the announcers/commentators said.
Marty

I don't think the sprinters teams will be able to control the race this year. Because of that I think Vinokurov will see victory.

As the very first post ask, "Can Zabel make 5?" Obviously he can. Good for him!!!

Zabel didn't get it. He raised his arms too early.

Freire wins.

And this is kinda sad: "I can let myself get dropped on the climbs at Tirreno no problem," Cipo said. "But I would rather die or risk a heart attack than get dropped on the Cipressa"

Guess where he got dropped today.

Zabel, Zabel, Zabel... :(

Cheer Freire! Strong as an ox and smart as a fox. :beer: Notice Petacchi has his fingers on the brakes before crossing the finish line.

What is RAI and how does one go about signing up? Thanks.

Yup, as stated, it's Italian TV. Call your cable provider, or satelite guys to see if it's available in your area. You may just learn some Italian also!

Zabel didn't get it. He raised his arms too early.

Freire wins.

And this is kinda sad: "I can let myself get dropped on the climbs at Tirreno no problem," Cipo said. "But I would rather die or risk a heart attack than get dropped on the Cipressa"

Guess where he got dropped today.

I'm sure that he'll make good on his promise to finish this year's TdF though. :rolleyes:

Zabel didn't get it. He raised his arms too early.
Watching P-N, I was surprised how early riders would raise their arms in victory, often without even check to see if they were clear. Maybe it's easy for me to say, but what's with this? Why not keep grinding for 3 more meters? Didn't Bettini get knicked this way just a couple of weeks ago? And seems like there were a couple big name losses last year for the same mistake.

Its like they think that they were the last one to accelerate... like nowone behind them might be speeding up later than them.
I guess its a lot more fun to get to celebrate a little on the bike. If you push %100 until the line, by the time you see that you have won, you have to nail your brakes and come to a dead stop before you crash into the road block 20 meters ahead of the line.
You see, the ones who break before the finish (lone break) get to have all the fun :D

Couldn´t believe Zabel starting the sprint...Petacchi defeated...and then that...
What a mistake !
Freire really was strong as an ox and smart as a fox. Zabel instead was literally dumb as a brick...

Watching P-N, I was surprised how early riders would raise their arms in victory, often without even check to see if they were clear

I too am amazed that these riders seem to know instantly if they've won, even if they've won by only an inch. 99% of the time they're right though.