At the start of the year 10 riders were picked to follow during the season. These were not necessarily the best riders – why didn’t you pick Sagan was a refrain in the comments – but more those with a point to prove, a story to tell or some other interest. How did they get on?
Three times in a row for Peter Sagan? He’s in form, he’s versatile and he’s got nothing to lose so it makes sense. But there’s a deep field and course that makes the rainbow jersey accessible to many pretenders including sprinters, classics contenders and some of the Vuelta’s recent heroes too.
Only Milan-Sanremo can provide such a thrilling finish. The race seemed locked down until the Poggio when Peter Sagan accelerated. Sonny Colbrelli and John Degenkolb tried to chase but as you can see in the photo above, they could only watch as the world champion rode away from them, just as Michał Kwiatkowski and Julian Alaphilippe launch their move to get across.
Michał Kwiatkowski jumps with 250m to go. Peter Sagan tries to sprint but is quickly distanced by the Pole, his long term rival, who condemns him to yet another second place. This was the moment the race was won.
Who is Michał Kwiatkowski? Ask Google and the answer might confuse. There’s a Canadian ice hockey player and for many in France “Michal” is a singer who featured in Star Academy, a popular TV series.
Michał Kwiatkowski drops the last of a four man group on the final climb of the Mirador above Ponferrada. He’d slipped the bunch on the descent with risky move, both for his safety on wet roads but tactically as there were four riders to get in his way up ahead. He seemed to take a breather before accelerating again and now solo he was never caught again. This was the moment the race was won.