2019 Milan San Remo Preview

Milan – San Remo returns on Saturday for its 110th edition.

Last year’s winner Vincenzo Nibali will see many other champions trying to block a repeat win, amongst them are UCI Road World Champion Alejandro Valverde, previous “La Primavera” winners Arnaud Demare (2016), John Degenkolb (2015), Alexander Kristoff (2014), his team mate Fernando Gaviria, Julian Alaphilippe and his team mate Elia Viviani, Peter Sagan, Olympic Champion Greg Van Avermaet and many others.

The course follows the classic route that has connected Milan to the Riviera di Ponente for the past 110 years, namely via Pavia, Ovada and Passo del Turchino, before descending towards Genoa Voltri. From here, the route heads west, passing through Varazze, Savona, Albenga, Imperia and San Lorenzo al Mare where after the classic sequence of the “Capi” – Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta – the peloton negotiates two climbs that have become part of the route in recent decades: the Cipressa (1982) and Poggio di Sanremo (1961). The Cipressa is just over 5.6km long with a gradient of 4.1%.

The ascent of Poggio di Sanremo starts 9km before the finish line. The climb is 3.7km long with an average gradient of less than 4% and a maximum of 8% in the segment shortly before the crest of the climb. The road is slightly narrower, with four hairpin turns in the first 2km. The descent is extremely technical, on asphalt roads, narrow at points and with a succession of hairpins, twist and turns as far as the junctions with the SS 1 Aurelia. The final part of the descent enters urban Sanremo and the last 2km are on long, straight urban roads. 850m from the finish line there is a left-hand bend on a roundabout. The last bend, leading into the home straight, is 750m from the finish line.

In addition to the 18 World Tour teams, 7 wildcard entries have been given:

UCI WORLDTEAMS:

• BAHRAIN – MERIDA (BRN) – Nibali, Colbrelli
• AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA) – Bardet, Naesen
• ASTANA PRO TEAM (KAZ) – Nielsen, Ballerini
• BORA – HANSGROHE (GER) – Sagan, Bennett
• CCC TEAM (POL) – Van Avermaet, Pauwels
• DECEUNINCK – QUICK – STEP (BEL) – Alaphilippe, Viviani
• EF EDUCATION FIRST (USA) – Clarke, Modolo
• GROUPAMA – FDJ (FRA) – Demare, Guarnieri
• LOTTO SOUDAL (BEL) – Ewan, Hansen
• MITCHELTON – SCOTT (AUS) – Trentin, Albasini
• MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP) – Valverde, Bennati
• TEAM DIMENSION DATA (RSA) – Kreuziger, Cummings
• TEAM JUMBO – VISMA (NED) – Groenewegen, Van Poppel
• TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN (SUI) – Battaglin, Spilak
• TEAM SKY (GBR) – Rowe, Stannard
• TEAM SUNWEB (GER) – Matthews, Dumoulin
• TREK – SEGAFREDO (USA) – Degenkolb, Felline
• UAE TEAM EMIRATES (UAE) – Kristoff, Gaviria

UCI Professional Continental Teams:

• ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI – SIDERMEC (ITA) – Belletti, Montaguti
• BARDIANI CSF (ITA) – Barbin, Maestri
• COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS (FRA) – Bouhanni, Laporte
• DIRECT ENERGIE (FRA) – Terpstra, Bonifazio
• ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY (ISR) – Neilands, Sbaragli
• NERI SOTTOLI SELLE ITALIA KTM (ITA) – Visconti, Velasco
• TEAM NOVO NORDISK (USA) – Planet, Peron

Nibali Looks To Repeat

“I am happy with the signals I received from Tirreno-Adriatico,” defending champion Vincenzo Nibali explained, “because they show that my condition is growing. The Sanremo is perhaps the most difficult race to interpret and this is its great charm. It will not be easy to repeat the task of last year, but I will do my best to try.

“For me the Sanremo is one of the most loved races- dice Sonny Colbrelli – it seems easy, but it only takes a second to win it or lose it. The Paris-Nice gave me good feedback and I hope to be with the best at the end of Via Roma.”

TBM Roster: Vincenzo Nibali, Sonny Colbrelli, Kristijan Koren, Marcel Sieberg, Dylan Teuns, Matej Mohoric, Heinrich Haussler

Alaphilippe and Viviani Headline Deceuninck – Quick-Step Roster

Elia Viviani has been one of the standout sprinters so far this year, capturing four victories, all at World Tour level, and taking his all-time career tally to 71 pro wins. The most recent of these came at Tirreno-Adriatico, where Viviani got the better of the other sprinters and claimed victory number 22 in the Deceuninck – Quick-Step jersey, which boded well ahead of his sixth start in “La Primavera”.

“The team is in good shape, knows how to handle the pressure and is prepared for the race. Milano-Sanremo is one of my dreams, it’s at the top of my list actually, and winning it would be really amazing. Of course, we won’t be alone over there, as many teams will start with the same goal of taking the victory, but we go into the race motivated, extremely confident and with a plan”, said the Italian Champion.

“We had a beautiful week in Tirreno-Adriatico. I feel good and have a very strong morale after picking up two stage wins there. The team is solid and doesn’t lack options, as you can see. I hope to carry my recent form into Milano-Sanremo, to have a good race and feature in the finale”, Alaphilippe explained when asked about his ambitions for the season’s first Monument.

Deceuninck – Quick-Step Roster: Julian Alaphilippe, Tim Declercq, Philippe Gilbert, Yves Lampaert, Maximiliano Richeze, Zdenek Stybar, Elia Viviani

UAE Team Emirates Pins Hopes on Gaviria-Kristoff Power Couple

UAE Team Emirates Sporting Director Marco Marzano along with General Manager Matxin has selected Fernando Gaviria and Alexander Kristoff as their leaders for the first monument of the season.

UAE Team Emirates Roster: Sven Erik Bystrøm, Fernando Gaviria, Alexander Kristoff, Marco Marcato, Jasper Philipsen, Oliviero Troia, Diego Ulissi

Van Avermaet Searching for Second Monument Victory

Greg Van Avermaet is set to headline CCC Team’s roster for Milan-San Remo, and will be backed by the core Classics team.

Van Avermaet, who will line up for his 12th consecutive edition and has previously finished in fifth place, is looking forward to the challenge on Saturday.

“We all know that despite the length of Milan-San Remo, it can be an easy race to finish but one of the hardest races to win. It is also one of the most open races in that anyone has a chance if they are still there on the Poggio. I’ve been in the top ten on two occasions and I know I can do a good performance, particularly if we race hard as I can do a good sprint after a long, hard race. Anything can happen at a race like Milan-San Remo so I will give everything I have on Saturday,” Van Avermaet said.

“I felt really good at Tirreno-Adriatico and I take a lot of confidence from the legs I had at the end of those long stages we did there. It was the perfect preparation race for the upcoming Classics so I think the whole team benefited from the long stages and difficult parcours.”

CCC Team Roster: Alessandro De Marchi, Michael Schär, Greg Van Avermaet, Gijs Van Hoecke, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Łukasz Wiśniowski

Matthews and Dumoulin for Sunweb

“After Michael’s tough crash in Paris-Nice last week we’re pleased to see him back in action this weekend. After a recovery period off the bike we will have to see what’s possible in the race,” said Team Sunweb Sporting Director Luke Roberts. “He has a good basis and is cleared to race by our medical team and hopefully he can get to the final if we have a reduced bunch. We also have Tom coming from Tirreno-Adriatico where he finished 4th, he will of course look to cover the attacks on the Poggio alongside Søren, who’s condition is looking good coming into the classics.”

Team Sunweb Roster: Søren Kragh Andersen, Roy Curvers, Tom Dumoulin, Marc Hirschi, Michael Matthews, Casper Pedersen, Nicholas Roche

Julien Duval To Take on First MSR

“Tackling your first Milano-San Remo is exciting, said Ag2R-La Mondiale’s Julien Duval. “I’m coming out of Tirreno-Adriatico, and that race seems like the best preparation for La Primavera. I’m not too worried despite the distance (287.5 km). I have already raced 250 km races. It’s a tough race, but it usually gets worse in the end. It is important to manage your efforts.

“We have two great leaders, with Romain Bardet capable of blowing up the race on the Capi, and Oliver Naesen, who could very well be in the mix at the final. It’s very motivating.

“I had a good start to the season, racing for the first time at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and the Tour d’Oman, which gave me the chance to settle in, working smoothly with Oliver with a view to the classics. We are entering a beautiful part of the season, with the races in Flanders. These are races where there are tons of fans on the road, with loads of tension and adrenaline. And then to race alongside a leader like Oliver adds to the pleasure. The goal is to win a Monument.

“And why not this Saturday?”

Ag2R-La Mondiale Roster: Nans Peters, Julien Duval, Clement Venturini, Oliver Naesen, Romain Bardet, Dorian Godon, Larry Warbasse

Matteo Trentin for Mitchelton-SCOTT

European champion Matteo Trentin will captain the Australian team’s chances with a mix of experience, including a return to racing for Daryl Impey, joining the youth of two neo-pros in Edoardo Affini and Robert Stannard who will debut at the race.

“I think I am coming into Milan – San Remo with better form than last year and also with a smoother approach,” said Trentin. “I have done my homework, let’s see on Saturday.

“We have a really strong team. We can see from our team’s performances at Paris-Nice and in Tirreno”

“San Remo is not a short race, it’s a long race. There are a lot of options, so many things can happen in all of those kilometres, but I think we are ready for that.”

Mitchelton-SCOTT Roster: Edoardo Affini, Michael Hepburn, Daryl Impey, Chris Juul-Jensen, Luka Mezgec, Robert Stannard, Matteo Trentin

Nizzolo The One To Watch for TDD

Giacomo Nizzolo has already made a big impact since joining Team Dimension Data at the start of 2019. Despite off-season knee surgery he’s already won a stage at the Tour of Oman and snared two other top-5 stage finishes and will be eager to impress in front of his home fans.

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, ‘The Beast’, has also found some early season speed, racing strongly at both the UAE Tour and at Tirreno-Adriatico, earning top-10 stages finishes in both. He’s a man who, should he make it to the final in the front group, will be well marked by his rivals.

“Milano-Sanremo is always a special race because at the start there are at least 50 riders who can play the game for the victory, commented Nizzolo. “It’s not a really hard race, if you take into account its profile, but after 290km every small hill can feel like a big, big climb. So we will try to spend the least energy as possible and be ready for those crucial final stages.”

Team Dimension Data Roster: Giacomo Nizzolo, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Roman Kreuziger, Steve Cummings, Enrico Gasparotto, Tom Jelte Slagter, Bernhard Eisel

Third MSR for Caleb Ewan

Lotto Soudal rider Caleb Ewan will be at the start of Milan- San Remo for the third time in his career. Last year, the Australian sprinted to second place as Nibali managed to hold off a charging peloton after a solo attack on the Poggio. This year, Ewan would like to become the third Australian to win Milan-San Remo, but remains cautious as a lot of riders are eager to claim the victory as well.

“Of course, I want to do better than last year,” Ewan noted. “Milan – San Remo is the biggest goal of my first part of the season. I will definitely aim for the win. My two earlier participations have learned me that it is a relatively easy race to finish but that also means there are more candidates for the win. There will be a lot of teams at the start that can control the race. So, I am hoping that a reduced bunch will go to the finish and that I will be able to sprint for the win on the Via Roma. The form is really good so I am looking forward to Saturday.

“The fact that I live close to San Remo can maybe be a benefit. I don’t train too often in that area but I have done some training rides on the final climbs so it is quite nice to be familiar with the course. The weather forecast for Saturday looks good. But as it stands now, there will be a tailwind along the coast, which isn’t great for the sprinters because the pace will be higher on the climbs. It can also cause the racing to be more aggressive.”

“In my opinion, there are three important points in the race. The first one is the Cipressa, then the ascent of the Poggio and afterwards the final kilometres to the finish. The ideal scenario would be to have one or two teammates left at the top of the Poggio to help me getting into a good position for the sprint. I feel lucky to have such a strong team behind me that will protect me all day long.  It is important to be well-surrounded because you need to save as much energy as possible during the day to go for a good result in the end.”

“There are so many candidates for the victory and that is exactly what makes Milan – San Remo such a hard race to win. On the one hand you have the punchers like Alaphilippe, who’s in excellent shape and is also sprinting well. If he attacks on the Poggio, it is going to be a hard finale. For the sprinters, there are guys like Viviani and Gaviria and you also never know what Sagan will do. The person that saves the most energy throughout the day will win.”

Lotto Soudal Roster: Caleb Ewan, Adam Hansen, Jens Keukeleire, Roger Kluge, Nikolas Maes, Tomasz Marczyński, Tosh Van der Sande.