Milan - San Remo 2021 Thread (Spoilers at some point)

I figured the monuments deserve their own threads vs. burying them in one general racing thread…:sunglasses:

I’m a huge fan of MSR…mostly because the last 30K are usually some of the best racing of the year…crest the Cipressa, a few guys take the long-shot gamble, whole field barreling down the coastline and then the chaos of the Poggio. I love every minute of that…

Plus, it is also the unofficial signal that we have made it through yet another winter and Spring is (almost) here.

So who ya got? MdvP is the obvious choice given his recent form and exploits, but you can’t rule out WvA or Alaphilippe. I really want to see Gilbert take it so he can nab all the monuments, but I think that is going to be a tall order given the form of the other three.

Can’t wait for Saturday!!

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Baring any misfortune, I’ll take WvA. He’s got the diesel power to go all 300km and is probably one of the best bunch sprinters that will make it up the Poggio in the final selection.

I cannot wait!

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It’s a polarized race, 90% boring, 10% exciting.

Cheers!

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I really want it to be MVdP but I am worried he’s going to be too heavily marked. MSR is a funny (and awesome) one because so many different types of riders genuinely, and rightfully believe they can win.

Agreed!!!

Mohoric will win with a long shoot :slight_smile:

I think it’s clear that Quickstep is going to light it up on the Poggio to set up either an Alaphilippe or Bennett win. Would love to see Alaphilppe send it and go for a solo win (ala Nibali in '18) …the Poggio is a good climb for him.

He was climbing well in Paris Nice, but probably not well enough to keep up if one of the three favorites drops the hammer on the climb.

My guess is he’ll be able to stay with the main pack, and will win the sprint in the main pack. But unlikely the race will come down to a pack sprint for the win, or even podium.

Maybe a change of tactics needed?:grin:

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One of the best finishes ever…

anyone know how to watch in US? seems like i’m back to streams and vpn

GCN has you covered:

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purchased. if the stream quality is bad - I am coming after you

I just want more action.

I think you may see MvdP take a long shot and go on the Cipressa. He can hold that power level necessary to go from there. Would not surprise me.

BUT, I think there is some reason to think he could feel tired tomorrow. T-A was the longest stage race he has ever done and he put himself in a dark hole on the stage with his long break in the cold. And with MSR being 300k, he could find himself lacking in the finale.

But he is still my 5 Star favorite.

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Watching on a bit of a tape delay (maybe an hour behind) - so I’ll be avoiding this thread from now on, but watching these guys leave Milan with those tram tracks is enough to elevate my HR a bit

Don’t think I’ll be able to survive the entire early section - planning to watch until the break is established then switch to live footage

When do I get on the trainer to watch

240km to go, bunch averaging 40km/h … get on the trainer to watch live in about 5 hours…

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van der Poel just attacked from 227k out!!!

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I realize the attraction of English commentary (for English speakers) but if you’re not watching the Belgian feed you’re missing out. They’re filling the time with long, agonizing interviews with barely articulate past legends of MSR.

(They’ve been chatting with Eddy Merckx for the last 10 min or so…)

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Looking forward to Higuita :colombia: finishing and racing well in the last segment. I don’t think it’s today but we have yet to see a breakout performance. He and his team always make little mistakes here and there.

  • Missing the line in last curve against Pogacar in TdCal.
  • Failure to protect his front wheel in TdF last year.
  • Missing GC podium in Tirreno/21 bcs hypothermia in Stage 5.