The spring classics are a big part of the season, teams can hire specialists there and some riders live for this brief part of the season. It’s wonderful sport but it can lack commercial sense… which is why it’s wonderful.
Say what you like about Wout van Aert, he’s generous. Gifting the Gent-Wevelgem win to Christophe Laporte was the second time he’s given his French team mate a win after Paris-Nice and things were reversed at the GP E3 last year when they did a 1-2. These moments are fascinating for all the potential discussions and intrigue involved.
Mathieu van der Poel leads by three seconds as he starts the descent down the Poggio. He’s counter-attacked Tadej Pogačar and left Filippo Ganna and Wout van Aert to chase. This was the moment the race was won.
Milan-Sanremo is this Saturday. It’s the paradox of the longest race that is often won thanks to the finest of details and the smallest margins, a race that can look anachronistic with its distance and late action but surely the Monument where race science and aerodynamics count the most.
Read on for the things we know like the route, TV times, stats and even the weather. As for who is going to win, there’s stellar cast of contenders from grand tour winners via classics contenders to sprinters and more. Picking between them is hard which is what makes the finale so tantalising.
The easiest race to finish, the hardest to win. Milan-Sanremo is also the most elusive race, where victory can often feel within reach, a tempting mirage.
That’s the Paris-Nice prize list, make if it what you will. As ever these sums are almost anecdotal for the teams and riders given the money is levied, taxed and shared. Instead the interest of these prize lists is how they can correlate with activity and visibility in the race. Israel-PremierTech had a rough time of things but they only finished with two riders.
The winning moment? It’s tempting to say when Pogačar made the belated announcement he was going to start the race. However it wasn’t so simple. Jumbo-Visma brought a strong team, Jonas Vingegaard had been winning plenty and the race started with the promise of a duel, a revenge match even. Only the contest would prove one-sided and Stage 4’s summit finish at the Camp des Loges saw Pogačar win ahead of David Gaudu while Jonas Vingegaard was further back, a hierarchy that would only become further entrenched.
The final stage of Paris-Nice and often a great day’s sport. Tadej Pogačar leads the race by 12 seconds ahead of David Gaudu but there’s a queue of riders further behind who can unlock the race with some long range moves.
The big summit finish stage of Paris-Nice and if it’s windy, fingers crossed it’s not that bad and yesterday’s storm damage has been cleared away. If you plan to watch on TV, don’t miss the earlier finish time.
A big day for the breakaway and a collection of climbs all with their steep sections. The big challenge could be the wind, it’s forecast to howl today. Update 11.00am – the route has been changed, skipping the first 115km.
Update 1.00pm – the stage is cancelled because of the high winds which among other things have caused road blocks with fallen trees etc.
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