Gerrans wins in Milan-San Remo
Australian national champ outsprints Cancellara, Nibali
Simon Gerrans (GreenEdge) captured an enthralling Milan-San Remo, outsprinting Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at the end of the race. The three had gotten away on the final climb, the Poggio, and maintained a narrow lead to the end.
"I still haven't realized what we actually did today," said Gerrans. "This is an amazing feeling to win this monument. The team rode perfectly, and we played our cards just the right way."
The first decisive moment in the race came on La Manie, as World Champion Mark Cavendish fell back, and despite the great efforts of his teammates and in particular Matt Hayman, he was unable to rejoin the favourites. The Cipressa, the penultimate climb, saw no changes, but as so often happens, the Poggio played the deciding role.
Several attacks were made but the key moment came as Nibali and Gerrans attacked close to the summit. Cancellara quickly joined them, and from then on there was little doubt as to the race's outcome. The Swiss rider was unable to drop his companions though, either on the descent or the final flat run-in, and having led most for most of the finale, couldn't summon up the last bit of strength to beat Gerrans.
"We rode as a team all day. The guys were always looking after one another and making sure that Gossy was in the right position at the key moments. Simon had free reign to cover any big moves, and he certainly did. Boys rode super today. I'm very, very proud, " said GreenEdge's Matt White.
A moment of silence
The race started with a minute’s silence for the victims of the coach crash in Switzerland earlier this week.
But the racing began when a group of nine got away 21 kilometers into the race: Cheng Ji (Project 1t4i), Juan Pablo Suarez (Colombia-Coldeportes), Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana), Angelo Pagani (Colnago-CSF), Vergard Stake Laengen (Team Type 1), Juan Jose Oroz (Euskaltel), Pierpaolo De Negri (Farnese Vini), Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank) and Oleg Berdos (UtensilNord). Their advantage ran out to 13 minutes.
With just under 100 kilometers to go, La Manie loomed, and as GreenEdge and Liquigas set the pace, the most notable victim was none other than Cavendish, who fell off the back of the field. Bernhard Eisel worked long and hard to try and bring his Sky teammate back up, while those at the head of the field increased their speed.
A serious crash with about 78 kilometers to go saw Carlos Quintero (Colombia Coldeportes) carried into an ambulance with suspected head injuries.
Eventually a group formed around Cavendish – he was not the only one to suffer – but even that proved futile.
BMC moved to the front and along with Omega Pharma-Quick Step kept the pace high. Philippe Gilbert put in a turn or two at the front, looking very comfortable.
With 60 kilometers to go, the break was caught by the chasing field. Behind them, and some 10 kilometers later, Cavendish called off the chase. He thanked his teammates for their work.
Favourites charge up Cipressa
BMC led the charge up the Cipressa, with Liquigas moving in to help. As they neared the top, the expected attacks came. The first to go was Francisco Javier Villa of UtensilNord-Named, with Vacansoleil's Johnny Hoogerland catching him. They gradually pulled away, causing Liquigas to pick up its speed again.
A crash with 22 kilometers to go took down Philippe Gilbert, amongst others. The Belgian champion was back on his bike again quickly but his chances of victory were over.
Hoogerland led the way on the descent, but the chasers were catching up. By the time they hit the bottom, a group including Tom Boonen, Cancellara and Daniele Oss came up and caught the two escapees.
The favourites all re-grouped on the seven flat kilometers between the Cipressa and the Poggio. Rabobank jumped into the lead with 11 to go, setting a blistering pace as they headed up the climb. Valerio Agnoli of Liquigas jumped out of the field, soon followed by Movistar's Angel Madrazo, as Rabo kept pace.
Madrazo pulled away from Agnoli on the steep, twisting climb. Hoogerland jumped again and Agnoli fell back into the field. Nibali and Gerrans were the next to go and quickly took the lead, with the Italian giving his all. Cancellara joined them, and the three forced a gap as they hit the sharp left hand turn which started the dizzying final descent.
The four-time World time trial champion had a few meters on his companions as they hit the bottom but he didn't pull away, as expected. The trio took a 12 second lead into the final two kilometers, with Katusha leading the furious chase.
Cancellara led out the sprint but Gerrans moved around to the right to take it by a nose, the second Australian victory in a row. A crash in the chasing field within sight of the finish line saw Omega Pharma-Quick Step's Trentin hit the barriers. Peter Sagan (Liquigas) won the sprint of the field, with John Degenkolb of Project 1t4i rounding out the top five.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | 6:59:24 |
2 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan | |
3 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
4 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:02 |
5 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1T4I | |
6 | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
7 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team | |
8 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
9 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
10 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan | |
11 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team | |
12 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team | 0:00:12 |
13 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Project 1T4I | |
14 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
15 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | 0:00:20 |
16 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | |
17 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
18 | Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team | |
19 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
20 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
21 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
22 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
23 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
24 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
25 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
26 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
27 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
28 | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team | |
29 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
30 | Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Sky Procycling | |
31 | Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
32 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
33 | George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
34 | Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
35 | Francesco Reda (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
36 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team | |
37 | Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
38 | Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team | |
39 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
40 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Greenedge Cycling Team | |
41 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
42 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
43 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
44 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | 0:00:31 |
45 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:01:05 |
46 | Patxi Javier Vila Errandonea (Spa) Utensilnord Named | 0:01:24 |
47 | Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
48 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:01:35 |
49 | Francesco Failli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
50 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
51 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | |
52 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:01:48 |
53 | Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat | |
54 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack-Nissan | |
55 | José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
56 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
57 | Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | |
58 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD | |
59 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
60 | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
61 | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
62 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
63 | Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
64 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
65 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank | |
66 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
67 | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
68 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda | |
69 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:02:20 |
70 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 0:02:41 |
71 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
72 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo Bank | |
73 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:02:44 |
74 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank | 0:03:23 |
75 | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 0:03:27 |
76 | Rémi Cusin (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | 0:03:39 |
77 | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | 0:04:09 |
78 | Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:04:44 |
79 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack-Nissan | |
80 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
81 | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Barracuda | 0:05:37 |
82 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | 0:07:37 |
83 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:07:43 |
84 | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
85 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
86 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
87 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
88 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:09:28 |
89 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
90 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | |
91 | Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
92 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | |
93 | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
94 | Baden Cooke (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | |
95 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
96 | Paolo Bailetti (Ita) Utensilnord Named | |
97 | Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
98 | Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
99 | Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin - Barracuda | |
100 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team | 0:14:39 |
101 | Frederico Rocchetti (Ita) Utensilnord Named | 0:15:54 |
102 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | 0:17:04 |
103 | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:20:18 |
104 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | |
105 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda | |
106 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
107 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin - Barracuda | |
108 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
109 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | |
110 | Robert Wagner (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan | |
111 | Hayden Roulston (NZl) Radioshack-Nissan | |
112 | David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Barracuda | |
113 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
114 | Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Barracuda | |
115 | Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team | |
116 | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan | |
117 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
118 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team | |
119 | Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
120 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
121 | Jeffry Johan Romero Corredor (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
122 | Oleg Berdos (Mda) Utensilnord Named | |
123 | Juan Pablo Forero Carreno (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
124 | Filippo Baggio (Ita) Utensilnord Named | |
125 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
126 | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | |
127 | Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
128 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
129 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | |
130 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
131 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team | |
132 | Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
133 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
134 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
135 | Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
136 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
137 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
138 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
139 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Project 1T4I | |
140 | Cheng Ji (Chn) Project 1T4I | |
141 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team | |
142 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
143 | Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
144 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | |
145 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:23:02 |
146 | Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | |
147 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
148 | Gianluca Maggiore (Ita) Utensilnord Named | |
149 | Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Stuart O'grady (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Greenedge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Svein Tuft (Can) Greenedge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Matthew Wilson (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | |
DNF | Claudio Corioni (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
DNF | Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Acqua & Sapone | |
DNF | Paolo Ciavatta (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
DNF | Francesco Ginanni (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
DNF | Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
DNF | Fabio Taborre (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | |
DNF | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Franck Osorio (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
DNF | Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
DNF | Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
DNF | Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | |
DNF | Marco Canola (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
DNF | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
DNF | Paolo Locatelli (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
DNF | Angelo Pagani (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
DNF | Filippo Savini (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | |
DNF | Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
DNF | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat | |
DNF | Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team | |
DNF | Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha Team | |
DNF | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
DNF | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
DNF | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
DNF | Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team | |
DNF | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
DNF | Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1T4I | |
DNF | Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1T4I | |
DNF | Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
DNF | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team | |
DNF | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | |
DNF | David Tanner (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | |
DNF | Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) Utensilnord Named | |
DNF | Matteo Fedi (Ita) Utensilnord Named | |
DNF | Daniele Colli (Ita) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
DNF | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | |
DNF | Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Type 1 - Sanofi |
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