Gerald Ciolek wins Milan-San Remo
By Cycling News
Sagan second, Cancellara third
Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) won a shortened version of Milan-San Remo, as snow forced organisers to cut the first two climbs. The German sprinter took the close win ahead of Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard) in a thrilling sprint finish.
As so often this season, the weather played a major role in the race. Snow forced the organizers to take the Turchino and La Manie climbs out of the race, with the nearly-frozen riders re-starting the race in Cogoleto, after a nearly two-hour break.
Ciolek was part of a six-rider group which formed on the descent of the Poggio that included Sagan, Cancellara, Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Ian Stannard (Team Sky), and Luca Paolini (Katusha). The German sprinter let the others take the lead on the sharp, steep descent, and played his cards cleverly in the finale.
Stannard led the way in the final kilometre, and Sagan opened the sprint once the break caught sight of a closing Taylor Phinney (BMC). However Ciolek, came off Sagan’s wheel to take the biggest win of his career and firmly put the MTN-Qhubeka team on the map. Chavanel, who had attacked with Stannard on the Cipressa, was forced to settle for fourth.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Ciolek after crossing the finish line. “This is an unbelievable success for us and just an incredible day. We just came here as a wildcard and now we’re standing here with the trophy. This is great. I knew I had to follow all the best riders on the Poggio and it worked out perfectly.
“When I chose this team, people wondered why I would join a Pro Continental team but it’s just been unbelievable. The coaching and staff on this team is so professional. I have never seen management care so much for the riders. I am happy to be on this team."
Snow, rain, cold and buses
Slate grey skies and low temperatures greeted the riders as they gathered in Milan’s Piazza Castello and much of the start-line chatter was focused on the weather forecast, although at that point few anticipated the severity of the impact it would have on the day’s events. A light rain began to fall just as the peloton began to snake its way out of the city centre, but 150 kilometres away, the Passo del Turchino was already banked with snow.
When the flag dropped, however, rumours of a neutralised Turchino were just that, and there was a typically fast start to proceedings. The early break went away shortly beyond the city limits, with Diego Rosa (Androni-Venezuela), Pablo Lastras (Movistar), Lars Bak (Lotto Belisol), Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Francesco Fortin (Bardiani-CSF Inox) forging clear, and after 15km, their lead was already five minutes.
At Pavia (40km), the sextet had 10:35 in hand, and they averaged a brisk 46.4kph for the first hour of racing. By that point, however, the rumours of snow on the Turchino had been confirmed and the race organisers were compelled to come up with an ad hoc solution to ensure the safety of the riders.
It was decided that the race would be neutralised for 46km between Ovada and Arenzano: rather than climb the Turchino, the peloton would stop at the 117km point and clamber back aboard their team buses, re-starting over an hour later.
Given that snow had fallen overnight on the Turchino, questions will be asked as to why the race organisers had not taken more satisfactory measures beforehand to circumvent the climb, but there was no time for the break to debate the whys and wherefores as they sped through the snow towards Ovada. Their race had now become something of a time trial, as they sought to build up as big a lead as possible before the re-start, and they duly reached the stop with 7:10.
La Manie, the next climb, was also taken out, and the race was restarted in heavy rain at Cogoleto. Not all the riders took to the second part of the race, with Omega Pharma-Quick Step's Tom Boonen being the biggest name to remain in the bus, with hard words for race organizers.
The weather stayed cold and wet, and more riders abandoned as the race went on. With 40km to go, the climbing finally started, but by then only three riders were still in the lead. Bak, Rosa and Belkov had shed their other three companions along the way, with the trio holding a two-minute lead up the Capo Berto.
A reduced peloton, by now shedding its extra layers of clothing, was determined to catch the break group before the Cipressa. The cold conditions began to take a toll on even the best and Vincenzo Nibali was the biggest casualty as he pulled out due to the cold.
By now, Sky had attempted to stamp their authority on the race and it appeared to be working until a crash saw Geraint Thomas and several teammates hit the deck along with Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp).
The first attack on the Cipressa, led by Omega Pharma-QuickStep's Sylvain Chavanel, was not successful, while surprisingly, Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen fell off the back of the group. He was not the only one, as Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol), Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) and 2005 winner Alessandro Petacchi all lost the struggle to hang on.
The group topped out on the Cipressa with only about 40 riders. World Champion Philippe Gilbert of BMC led the way down, perhaps hoping to build up enough of a lead to stay away for the remaining 20 kilometres. It was not to be, as Chavanel lead a group of six, including Sagan up to the Belgian.
The next lead group to form was Chavanel, Eduard Vorganov (Katusha) and Ian Stannard (Sky). The field didn't want to let them go, and kept them within 30 seconds, as the rain started again. Vorganov lost ground on the Poggio and was quickly passed by Maxim Iglinskiy.
But on the descent Sagan led a counter attack with Cancellara and reeled in Chavanel and Stannard. Ciolek also made the move.
They caught the two leaders with just less than 4km to go. Stannard jumped, but Sagan led the chase, and then took off on his own. Cancellara gave chase, with all coming together, until Stannard jumped again with 1.8km to go.
The six came through the final kilometre with a sufficient gap, but it was the sight of Phinney tearing across that ignited the sprint and set the wheels in motion for Ciolek.
1 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka | 5:37:20 |
2 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
3 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard | |
4 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
5 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha | |
6 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
7 | Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
8 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | 0:00:14 |
9 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
10 | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling | |
11 | Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team | |
12 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
13 | Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling | |
14 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
15 | Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Team Europcar | |
16 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
17 | Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
18 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
19 | Yoann Offredo (Fra) FDJ | |
20 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
21 | Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | |
22 | Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha | |
23 | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge | |
24 | Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha | |
25 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | |
26 | Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar | |
27 | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
28 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
29 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
30 | Grégory Rast (Swi) RadioShack Leopard | |
31 | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
32 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
33 | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
34 | Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
35 | Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
36 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
37 | Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) IAM Cycling | |
38 | Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | 0:00:20 |
39 | Vincent Jerome (Fra) Team Europcar | |
40 | Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
41 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ | 0:00:56 |
42 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling | |
43 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha | |
44 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack Leopard | 0:02:39 |
45 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:02:42 |
46 | Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 0:03:26 |
47 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge | |
48 | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:35 |
49 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:04:40 |
50 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
51 | Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
52 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:13 |
53 | Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka | |
54 | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
55 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
56 | Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | |
57 | Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
58 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol | |
59 | Stefan Denifl (Aut) IAM Cycling | |
60 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling | |
61 | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
62 | Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
63 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
64 | Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol | |
65 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
66 | Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
67 | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge | |
68 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
69 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard | |
70 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp | |
71 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
72 | Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
73 | Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
74 | Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin-Sharp | |
75 | Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
76 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
77 | Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
78 | Grega Bole (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
79 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
80 | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team | |
81 | Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:07:49 |
82 | Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | 0:08:59 |
83 | Marco Bandiera (Ita) IAM Cycling | 0:09:20 |
84 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | |
85 | Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
86 | Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:09:22 |
87 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Sharp | |
88 | Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:11:19 |
89 | Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:11:21 |
90 | Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol | 0:11:29 |
91 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol | |
92 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp | |
93 | Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge | |
94 | Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
95 | Alessandro Proni (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | 0:11:39 |
96 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:11:44 |
97 | Murilo Antonio FISCHER | |
98 | Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
99 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
100 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | |
101 | David Tanner (Aus) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
102 | Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka | 0:11:46 |
103 | Jacobus Venter (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
104 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | |
105 | Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
106 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | |
107 | Massimo Graziato (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
108 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
109 | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:11:49 |
110 | Alex Howes (USA) Garmin-Sharp | |
111 | Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
112 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
113 | Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team | |
114 | Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
115 | Rick Flens (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
116 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) IAM Cycling | |
117 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol | |
118 | Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling | |
119 | Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Europcar | |
120 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha | |
121 | Tomas Aurelio Gil Martinez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli | |
122 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
123 | Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
124 | Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:11:56 |
125 | Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:13:09 |
126 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | |
127 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | |
128 | Andreas Stauff (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka | |
129 | Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ | |
130 | Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | |
131 | Dominic Klemme (Ger) IAM Cycling | |
132 | Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
133 | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | |
134 | Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | 0:15:03 |
135 | Vladimir Isaychev (Rus) Katusha | 0:18:25 |
DNF | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | |
DNF | Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Riccardo Chiarini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
DNF | Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
DNF | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
DNF | Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
DNF | Filippo Fortin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
DNF | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Sharp | |
DNF | David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Sharp | |
DNF | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | |
DNF | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
DNF | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol | |
DNF | Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol | |
DNF | Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Eloy Teruel Rovira (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Martin Reimer (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka | |
DNF | Songezo Jim (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
DNF | Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
DNF | Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
DNF | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
DNF | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
DNF | Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | |
DNF | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard | |
DNF | Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard | |
DNF | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling | |
DNF | Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | |
DNF | Ji Cheng (Chn) Team Argos-Shimano | |
DNF | Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano | |
DNF | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | |
DNF | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Jonathan Monsalve (Ven) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia |
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