Kristoff wins Milan-San Remo

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Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the 105th Milan-San Remo taking the sprint ahead of Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Ben Swift (Team Sky). He easily pulled away in the closing meters after a perfect leadout from his teammate Luca Paolini.

It was the biggest career win for Kristoff, who became the first Norwegian to win the race.

As expected, the race once again came down to a mass sprint, with most of the top names making it through to the end. However, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) finished only fifth, last year's winner Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka) ninth, and heavy favourite Peter Sagan (Cannondale) only 10th in a rain-affected race that split and regrouped several times as the peloton tackled a more traditional looking edition of the race.

The top sprinters had all survived up until the foot of the final climb of the Poggio, at which point an attack from Vincenzo Nibali - who had attacked on the Cipressa - was neutralised. John Degenkolb unluckily punctured near the base of the climb but Team Sky, BMC and Belkin all attempted to split the field on the fast run-in to Sam Remo. It was Katusha who took control. Paolini powered to the front inside the final kilometre at a crucial moment when discipline and calmness were required.

Omega Pharma tried to position Cavendish on the right hand side and although he had enough power to overtake an fading Sacha Modolo, he was powerless to stop Kristoff from charging for the line in a sprint reminiscent of Oscar Friere's last win here in 2010.

Wet, wet, wet

The riders were served a taste of the conditions they would face during the race as they headed to the sign-in close to the Arco della Pace at the end of Corso Sempione. Showers and grey skies alternated in rapid frequency, with riders covered in rain jackets, leg warmers and gloves.

The riders rolled out from central Milan at 9:50 am as planned, with the official race start on the edge of the city in Via della Chiesa Rossa. With the 8.5km transfer and the 294km race route, the riders covered over 300km.

The roads and the Milan tram tracks were wet and slippery, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) crashing. He hurt his elbow and was forced to quit the race before it had officially begun.

The attacks came as soon as the flag as dropped, with Maarten Tjallingii (Belkin), Jan Barta (Netapp-Endura) the first to jump away. David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) was keen to get in the move in what is his final Milan-San Remo. However he was chased down and teammate Nathan Haas jumped across as a breakaway of seven riders formed.

The peloton was looking for a controlled race and let the magnificent seven go and they quickly gained a minute. The seven were Matteo Bono (Lampre Merida), Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF), Antonio Parrinello (Androni Giocattoli), Tjallingii (Belkin), Barta (NetApp-Endura) and Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthCare).

By the time the riders reached Pavia, after 35km, the break already had a gap of seven minutes. It reached 10 minutes after 45km but then the peloton began to react, with the first hour of the race covered at 47.7km/h.

Cannondale led the pursuit, with additional help from several other teams. However occasional rain showers dampened their enthusiasm and soaked the riders. A hailstorm also hit the race on the gradual slopes of the Passo Turchino, with temperatures falling to 5 degrees Celsius, but the gradual climb up from the Lombardy plain did little to change the race.

The break emerged from the 180m long Passo Turchino tunnel with a lead of eight minutes and a view of the Mediterranean offered hope of a dry finale. However it was not to be and spring had not yet arrived on the Italian Riviera. The rain returned as the riders headed west along the Aurelia coast road. Eating and drinking would be as vital as riding a tactically perfect race.

Peter Sagan stopped for a mechanical problem but was soon on his way and his Cannondale team continued to work on the front, with help from Orica-GreenEdge, Giant-Shimano and Trek Factory Racing.

As the riders reached the 175km point of the race, with still more than 100km to go, Boem struggled at the back of the break with cramp. All the seven breakaway riders were fatigued and wet after making a huge effort together, an effort of glory and sacrifice for their teammates rather than of personal ambition.

Before the second feed zone, at 70km to go, the break was reduced to just five riders. First Boem was dropped, then Haas sat up after an unfortunate puncture. After five hours of racing, much of it in the rain, the average speed was still above 42km/h. The gap between the breakaway and the peloton was down to 6:00 as the first capi climb, the Capo Mele, neared.

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The gap was under three minutes as the peloton hit the Capo Berta, with the break down to only three riders. The rain let up as the Cipressa approached but the roads were still wet, and it had rained so heavily at the finish that the road was covered with several inches of water, a potentially dangerous situation which organizers hastened to clear away.

The hard conditions took their toll, as reports came through that Omega Pharma-QuickStep was starting to lose its sprint train, although Cavendish was still holding on.

On the Cipressa, Bono was the first to be dropped. Some 1:30 behind them, Cannondale led the way up, stringing out the field and with riders falling off the back with regularity. Nibali took off with 25km to go and quickly picked up a lead on the winding wet road. In no time he had caught and passed Bono.

As the road rose, the gap to the initial break continued to fall. The bad weather didn't seem to bother Nibali, who calmly made his way up to the two remaining leaders, catching and passing them with 20km left.

More and more riders tried to jump away from the chasing group, but Cannondale did their best to hold things together with Alessandro De Marchi providing Sagan with crucial support. Nibali built his lead up to 49 seconds with 15km to go, as Tjallingii tried unsuccessfully to follow.

Sky moved up to the front of the chase, riding for Edvald Boasson Hagen, and the gap had fallen to 20 seconds with 10km - and the Poggio - still to go. Nibali had started to fade and at the foot of the climb; he only held a 13-second advantage.

Lotto led the furious chase, catching the Astana rider on the ascent with 9km to go, but it was Trek's Fabian Cancellara who took off next with Gregory Rast, along with Enrico Battaglin of Bardiani going clear. There was a brief volley from Gilbert but he was unable to make an impression as up ahead as Rast and Battaglin tried to forge clear. They were caught near the top of the climb and it was Lars Petter Nordhaug (Belkin) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) who attempted to split the field on the treacherous descent.

Andre Greipel had lost contact on the climb but bravely fought back before the run-in to the line.

With 2km to go, many of the top names were still there as the mass sprint was set up. Katusha led the way to the 1km marker. Gilbert shot up the left hand side, and Cavendish put in his shot, but it was Kristoff who took the win with the Norwegian pulling away in the closing meters for a convincing win.

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