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 | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:02 |
5 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1T4I | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Katusha Team | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team | 0:00:12 |
13 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Project 1T4I | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | 0:00:20 |
16 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Sky Procycling | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Francesco Reda (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Greenedge Cycling Team | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
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 | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:01:35 |
49 | Francesco Failli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:01:48 |
53 | Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack-Nissan | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
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 | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo Bank | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
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 | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
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 | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
87 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
88 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:09:28 |
89 | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
94 | Baden Cooke (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Paolo Bailetti (Ita) Utensilnord Named | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
99 | Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
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 | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
106 | Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
109 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Robert Wagner (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
111 | Hayden Roulston (NZl) Radioshack-Nissan | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
113 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
114 | Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Barracuda | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
117 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
118 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
119 | Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
120 | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
121 | Jeffry Johan Romero Corredor (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
122 | Oleg Berdos (Mda) Utensilnord Named | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
123 | Juan Pablo Forero Carreno (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
124 | Filippo Baggio (Ita) Utensilnord Named | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
125 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
126 | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
127 | Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia - Coldeportes | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
128 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
129 | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
130 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
131 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
132 | Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
133 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
134 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
135 | Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
136 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
137 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1 - Sanofi | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
138 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1T4I | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
139 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Project 1T4I | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
140 | Cheng Ji (Chn) Project 1T4I | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
141 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
142 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
143 | Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
144 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Selle Italia | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
145 | Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:23:02 |
146 | Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
147 | Marco Coledan (Ita) Colnago - Csf Inox | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
148 | Gianluca Maggiore (Ita) Utensilnord Named | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
149 | Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Stuart O'grady (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
DNF |