Milan-San Remo 2022 as it happened - Matej Mohoric descends to glory after holding on over the Poggio
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Updated 19/03/2022 at 17:46 GMT
With a host of big names withdrawing from the first Monument of the season, Mathieu van der Poel has declared himself fit to race. The Belgian will resume his rivalry with Dutchman Wout van Aert, Slovenian duo Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic will hope to feature and Philippe Gilbert is aiming to spring a huge surprise in his eighteenth and final appearance. Watch Milan-San Remo on this very page.
'It still gives me goosebumps' - Stuyven on odds-defying victory at 2021 Milan-San Remo
Race report: Mohoric makes history after daredevil descent
A daredevil descent of the Poggio made the difference as Matej Mohoric became the first Slovenian in history to win Milan-San Remo on Saturday. The Bahrain-Victorious rider withstood a flurry of uphill attacks from compatriot Tadej Pogacar before making his move inside the final 4.5km of the 299km classic. Anthony Turgis and Mathieu van der Poel completed the podium.
Mohoric: "I'm without words"
"I was thinking about it the whole winter. I knew that if I trained properly over the winter and managed to stay in touch going over the top (of the Poggio) then I would have a chance if I attacked on the descent.
"I was in perfect condition after I was ill in February. Unfortunately I had a big crash in Strade Bianche but I rested up and did a lot of physio. I never stopped believing. I did some basic training to keep as much condition as possible. And today I’m here. I didn’t believe it. I wasn’t going super well but it was enough to hang on with the best on the Poggio. And then I just went all in. I can’t believe it. I’m without words."
Luck and cojones makes the difference
Matej Mohoric kicked clear of the leaders with 4.3km to go on the descent, the Slovenian surging clear of his compatriot Pogacar and never looking behind. Replays show that he did indeed drop his chain on a corner inside the final kilometre. Amazingly, it slipped back onto the cog and he was able to keep Turgis at bay.
Second place for Turgis, third for Van der Poel
The Frenchman hits the handlebars as he crosses the line ahead of the rest but two seconds down on the solo winner. Matthews and Pogacar complete the top five. It's a sign of what Mohoric just pulled off that everyone is congratulating him for the win - he was well back going over the top but had the fear factor to go big guns on the descent.
Victory for Matej Mohoric!
The Slovenian holds on for the biggest win of his career - and that was a truly magnificent victory. All eyes were elsewhere even though everyone knows just how strong the Bahrain-Victorious rider is on the descent. And how he kept his cool after dropping a chain in the final kilometre...
Final kilometre: Mohoric still in the lead
What a ride from the "third Slovenian". He almost drops a chain on a corner after the flamme rouge but he only has Anthony Turgis chasing behind...
3km: Van der Poel leads the chase
Mohoric is using every centimetre of the road as he opens the gap on this descent - and he's got such a huge engine, who would bet against him holding on? Van der Poel, on his first race day of the season, chases behind at the front of a small group of around seven riders.
4.5km: Mohoric attacks on the descent
This was always going to be his plan - and the Slovenian opens up a gap on the front with his trademark daredevil descending. It's not a huge gap, though, and Van Aert leads the chase.
6.2km: Kragh Andersen leads over the summit
Soren Kragh Andersen makes a move and takes Pogacar with him. Van der Poel and Van Aert close the gap just ahead of the summit with Matthews dragging the others back into contention behind. Right... time to descend... can anyone do a Sean Kelly from 1992?
7.5km: Pogcar goes again! Then Roglic!
Another surge from the Slovenian is covered by Aranburu, then Van Aert, Roglic and Van der Poel. There's a crash behind on one of the bends and that will disrupt those chasing towards the back. Pog can't get any gap though and that hands the initiative to Roglic, who has a go himself. But the climb isn't steep enough for either of the Slovenians to make the difference. Pog rolls the dice again but it's no can do.
8.5km: UAE take it up... Pog attacks!
After Jumbo's early positioning on the front, Diego Ulissi brings Tadej Pogacar onto the front ahead of the inevitable. Pog throws down the gauntlet and takes Van Aert with him - but Van der Poel leads the chase and it comes back together.
10km: Here we go... the Poggio!
A slight pre-climb lull plays into the hands of the two escapees who stretched out their lead to 20 seconds ahead ahead of the final climb. They're onto the apron of this infamous ascent before the tight right-hand turn that heralds the most electrifying 10km of racing you'll see all season. And that's it - all over for the breakaway as Jumbo-Visma come to the front with Laporte leading out Van Aert.
12km: Almost over for the breakaway
Tonelli and Rivi are about to be caught ahead of the Poggio and it's all about to kick off again. It's been textbook from UAE so far. They have managed to discard many of the big sprinters ahead of Pogacar's inevitable attack on the Poggio. But will it be steep enough or long enough for the 23-year-old, who has won his previous two Monuments? He'll need to drop the likes of Van Aert and Roglic and Matthews, as well as the sprinters.
16km: Who's still in contention?
Favourites Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic are still here, of course, as are Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Peter Sagan never made it back on, but Michael Matthews is still here, as is Giacomo Nizzolo, Matej Mohoric, Michal Kwiatkowski, Mads Pedersen, Arnaud Demare, Alex Aranburu and Biniam Grmay.
22km: Just 40 seconds for last two escapees
Alessandro Tonelli and Samuele Rivi are the only riders from the break yet to be caught and they go over the top of the Cipressa with 40 seconds in the bank, which is nothing. The peloton - if you can call it that - has fewer than 30 riders. Van der Poel, in his first race of the season, is crucially still here.
Fabio Jakobsen dropped
And that's exactly why the pace is so high: the first of the sprinters are tailed off and one of those jettisoned from the peloton is the in-form debutant Jakobsen. Roglic is right in the thick of things now for Jumbo-Visma and wow, this is incredible: as they approach the top of the Cipressa, the main field has been whittled down to around just 30 riders. Mads Pedersen and Arnaud Demare are still there - but those are the only pure sprinters we can see...
25km: UAE and Jumbo pile on the pressure on the Cipressa
The softening up starts in earnest as Tadej Pogacar's teammates ramp up the pace through Jan Polanc. Jumbo-Visma also has riders there on the front, including Christophe Laporte. This rise in tempo has strung out the peloton - a peloton which Sagan is still stuggling to rejoin - while bringing in the remnants of the break to within 1:30. Davide Formolo is also there for UAE and he now takes over the pacing from Polanc.
30km: Mechanical for Peter Sagan!
The pace goes stratospheric ahead of Cipressa as Jumbo-Visma and TotalEnergies flock to the front to bring the gap down to 2:30. But it's a double-edged sword for TotalEnergies because their leader has a mechanical issue! Terrible timing for Peter Sagan, who seems to have his drive chain jammed. He can't sort it out and needs a bike change instead. The Slovakian will face an uphill challange to get back into contention before the road heads uphill again.
33km: Conca conks out
Heartbreak for Filippo Conca - the Lotto Soudal rider fought tooth and nail to get back to the leaders, but he's just cramped up and is now sprawled across the road in pain after coming to a standstill, pain etched across his face. He eventually gets back on his bike, but he's well behind even the second chasing group, and the rangy Italian will soon be swept up by the pack.
38km: Pidcock distanced on Capo Berta
It's not looking good for Tom Pidcock: the British rider is pedalling squares off the back of the peloton and his chances of doing something today are already over and we're only on the Capo Berta. He may be suffering from the illness that has torn through the peloton - or perhaps he didn't fuel enough, or simply doesn't have the legs. But Ineos Grenadiers will need to regroup and rethink now that their Plan A has gone.
Meanwhile, the five leaders have regrouped after Conca was dropped on the climb after EOLO-Kometa duo Rivi and Sevilla went hell for leather on the Berta. The gap is 3:30 now as Bora-Hansgrohe now take it up on the front of the pack. They only have six riders in their squad following the late withdrawal of Sam Bennett. It's hard to know what their Plan A is today - perhaps Danny Van Poppel.
42km remaining: Disharmony in the break
The first two of this uphill triptych are now behind the leaders - and with the Capo Cervo done and dusted, a split occurs in the break and both Drone Hopper riders have been caught out. Astana have one rider either side of this split with Zakharov, Zurita and Tagliani digging deep to rejoin the five leaders ahead of tthe Capo Berta. The peloton closes to within four minutes now.
It's time to climb: Capo Mele ahoy!
It's the first of the tre capi climbs, the Capo Mele, and the advantage of the eight leaders is down to 4:45 as they start the 1.3km coastal ascent. We can expect the whittling down of the peloton to start imminently - if not physically, then mentally.
55km remaining: Ineos start to show their cards
As the riders pass the sign for Alassio plastered across the cliff-face, Luke Rowe edges up alongside the EF Education-EasyPost train with Tom Pidcock on his wheel. Pidcock made his San Remo debut last year and was very much in the mix as he tried his luck on the descent of the Poggio before finishing 15th. Should he win today, the 22-year-old will be the youngest MSR champion since Eddy Merckx.
CRASH! Mikkel Honore goes down...
The rangy Dane hits the deck at speed after a touch of wheels exiting a small roundabout near the back end of the peloton. Honore lets out a curse of pain/anger but he's on his way - albeit with some bumps, bruises and a heavily torn jersey and bibs. He's part of a makeshift Quick-Step team that has to make do without the 2019 winner Julian Alaphilippe, who pulled out this week with bronchitis. In his place, the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen makes his Monuments debut. He's got the form - but does he have the legs to get over the climbs?
65km remaining: Showtime approaches...
The tre capi climbs are coming up and so we're about to hit the business end of this race. The pace has really gone up as Groupama-FDJ and EF Education-EasyPost come to the front with their big engines. Team DSM are also present - a team of lone rangers rather than favourites, although they have that man Soren Kragh Andersen, who was heavily involved in last year's finale. The gap is down to 5:15.
75km remaining: Gap slowly comes down
We're still 20km from the first of the three capo climbs and the gap is now 5:35 for the eight leaders. Jacopo Mosca has come to the front of the pack for Trek, the Italian tucking himself just behind Jos van Emden of Jumbo-Visma. Blimey, the indefatigable Dutchman has now been pulling the peloton for over 200km of this race. But which of his teammates will deliver - Van Aert or Roglic? Or will it be a win for Pogacar, an outsider, or one of the sprinters such as Jakobsen, Pedersen, Philipsen, Sagan, Bouhanni or Coquard...?
Talking of outsiders, they include the likes of Alessandro Covi and Diego Ulissi (both UAE Team Emirates and solid foil for Pogacar), Gianni Moscon (Astana-Qazaqstan), Greg van Avermaet (Ag2R-Citroen) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EastPost). Covi, I hasten to add, is Carlton Kirby's tip for today. Twice a winner this season, he's not the obvious choice from UAE - but you never know...
Could Pogacar really win this?
Would you bet against him? The double Tour de France winner is also a double Monument winner following his victories last year in Liege and Lombardia. He returns to Milano-Sanremo for the first time since 2020, when he finished 12th in his debut, off the back of victories in his first three races of the season (UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico).
The question is: when does Pog attack? The Poggio may not be long or steep enough for him to drop his rivals which means the 23-year-old may well have to roll the die a little earlier on the Cipressa - a winning move from which has not been since, gosh, the days of Bugno? Perhaps Pogacar will channel his inner Pantani who split the peloton with his own uphill attack on the Cipressa in 1999.
100km remaining: Trek-Segafredo join the party
The Trek team of Mads Pedersen have send a couple of riders forward to help out monitoring the progress of this breakaway. The Dane was a late addition to Trek's roster following the withdrawal of defending champion Jasper Stuyven with illness. We spoke to him before the start in Milan:
“It’s a pity for Jasper because it was one of his biggest goals of the season, so if you put it that way, it’s not nice to be here. But now I’m here and the shape if good, hopefully we can do something nice today. When I got the call on Thursday evening, I had to switch on and try to be really focused for the race. I did good results in my first Monument once (Flanders; runner-up in 2018) so sometimes going into a race without expectations can have its benefits."
Asked how he will keep up with the big favourites, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar, Pedersen gave this wry reply:
Van Aert – beat him in the sprint, and Pogacar – try to follow him on the climbs. My role? Follow and sprint.
110km remaining: Bahrain-Victorious come to the front
The withdrawal of Sonny Colbrelli put something of a spanner in the works for Bahrain-Victorious but they're making their presence known today by putting their team on the front, tucked in behind Jos van Emden of Jumbo-Visma. They have Phil Bauhaus if things come down to the sprint and Matej Mohoric, who is capable of getting over - and down - the Poggio very fast. It's worth adding that Bahrain are the team with the most top 10s in the last five editions: six in total.
118km remaining: Seven minutes for break
The gap came down on the fast drop to the coast when Rein Taaramae put in a shift on the front of the pack for Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert. But now the road is hugging the Med, the eight escapees have managed to stretch out their lead once again. For the first time today it creeps above seven minutes.
A reminder of the eight men in the break: Kazakh duo Yevgeniy Gidich and Artyom Zakharov (both Astana), Italians Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), Filippo Tagliani (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), Samuele Rivi (EOLO-Kometa) and Filippo Conca (Lotto Soudal), and Spaniards Ricardo Zurita (Drone Hopper) and Diego Sevilla (EOLO-Kometa).
Philippe Gilbert's so-called Strive For Five
By winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix during his stint at Quick-Step, Belgian veteran Philippe Gilbert put himself in the brink of becoming only the fourth rider in history - after Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy and Roger de Vlaeminck - to win all five of cycling's Monuments. Gilbert won Il Lombardia (twice) and Liege-Bastogne-Liege earlier in his career and today makes his 18th appearance in La Primavera. His best finish here is third in 2011 and, given his advanced years and narrowing armoury, it would take something extraordinary for the 39-year-old to complete his grand slam today in what is his 61st appearance in a Monument. But what a story it would be...
Alpecin-Fenix with two options
The early recall of Mathieu van der Poel from injury gives Alpecin-Fenix options today. Jasper Philipsen is their man for the sprint but the 24-year-old only came 150th in his San Remo debut in 2019 and hasn't raced since. Still, the Belgian has good form after two wins in the UAE Tour earlier this spring.
Van der Poel's inclusion is captivating. He hasn't yet raced this season because of ongoing issues with his back following his crash in the Olympics over the summer. It would be a tall order for him to win on his return - and yet his fellow cyclocross pal Wout van Aert won his first race of the season, so who knows?
We spoke to Van der Poel this morning ahead of the start and asked him when he decided he would take part:
Just two days ago. I came home from training and I had a few calls from the team. We had some people who pulled out with sickness and they asked if I wanted to come back early. I feel pretty good in training, but training isn’t racing. I have a free role today so we’ll see how it develops. Sometimes I still feel something (in my back) after hard training but on the bike it doesn’t hold me back anymore so I hope it stays that way.
Who do Ineos Grenadiers have for today's finale?
In short, the British team have options galore, even if they wouldn't be described as favourites. Polish veteran Michal Kwiatkowski, winner in 2017, will have a free role, while British duo Ethan Hatyer and Tom Pidcock are options for the sprint or a Poggio attack respectively. Elia Viviani is also one for the sprint, as is Ben Swift who has twice finished on the podium in San Remo. Luke Rowe and Filippo Ganna make up the engine room for Ineos. You'd expect their role will be in stringing things out between the Cipressa and Poggio - but you wouldn't bet against Ganna having a pop himself at some point, given his versatility.
Meanwhile, here's Brad on a Bike with some of his San Remo memories...
150km remaining: We're only halfway through
The break pass through the tunnel at the summit of the Turchino and they're now embarking on this fast, twisting and technical decent towards the outskirts of Genoa with a gap of just over six minutes over the pack. We're still in the saving-energy phase of this race but it will start to get serious once they hit the Ligurian coast and the tre capi climbs come along.
Who can win if it comes down to a sprint?
The last five editions have been won by attackers so it looks like the days of a Mark Cavendish bunch sprint win on the via Roma are well and truly over. But you never know. Say the expected fireworks on the Cipressa and the Poggio never materialise, who are the fast finishers with staying power who could take the win?
First of all, you'd have to fancy Fabio Jakobsen or Mads Pedersen - two San Remo debutants who have been in solid form this year. That man Sagan can't be discounted, now can Michael Matthews despite both of their respective deteriorations. Frenchman Arnaud Demare infamously won in 2016 following an alleged tug up the Cipressa - and he says his condition is good even if the results are not coming. And among the top tier fastmen there's also Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Fenix, who has numerous wins this season.
Then there's the likes of Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers), Giacomio Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech), Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious), Sacha Modolo (Bardiani-CSF), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Vincenzo Albanese (EOLO-Kometa), Ivan Garcia and Alex Aranburu (both Movistar), Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert). Of course, you'd be crazy to bet against Wout van Aert in a bunch sprint, too.
That said, I seriously doubt today's race will end up in a sprint. Given the class of some of the puncheurs and attackers, surely that scenario is off the table...
Can Sagan ride back to relevance again?
This is Peter Sagan's 13th appearance in Milan-San Remo, a race he has amazingly yet to win. Fourth on five occasions and runner-up twice, the 32-year-old's chances of winning on the via Roma are getting slimmer and slimmer as this new generation of all-round talents continues its meteoric rise to the top. Sagan was once the kind of rider who you'd back on punchy climbs like the Poggio - and his sprinting ability gave him an extra special 'top dog' status in La Primavera.
He's been fourth on his previous three appearances in Milan-San Remo so that goes to show Sagan still has what it takes to get in the mix. But he's also lost some of his uphill zip and he's no longer the fast finisher of old. And set against the likes of Alaphilippe, Van Aert, Pogacar, Roglic and even the veteran Valverde, he's unlikely to come out on top. Another fourth today? Sounds about right.
Onto the Passo del Turchino
The breakaway has passed through the town of Ovada and the gradient now starts to ramp up a little now that they've completed the apron of the Passo del Turchino. It's still a gradual, gentle grind - but once they get to the top and go through the tunnel, they will get that first glimpse of the glistening Mediterranean sea on the other side.
The gap is 6:35 and the fluorescent yellow shoulders of Intermarche-Wanty-Gober are very present on the front of the pack. They have the experience of Alexander Kristoff should things come down to a slugfest reduced sprint as well as the ebullient youth of Biniam Girmay, who has showed some good legs this year.
Four former winners in the race
There are four former winners in this starting peloton of 166 riders: Wout van Aert (2020), Michael Kwiatkowski (2017), Arnaud Demare (2016) and Alexander Kristoff (2015). Of course, it would have been more had Jasper Stuyven (2021), Julian Alaphilippe (2019) and John Degenkolb (2015) not withdrawn with sickness. Vincenzo Nibali (2018) opted not to put this race on his programme while Mark Cavendish (2011) did not get the call-up at Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl despite Alaphlippe's absence. Cav has been in good form - winning Milano-Torino midweek - but so too has his teammate Fabio Jakobsen, who makes his monuments debut today.
Here's a reminder of how Jasper Stuyven won last year's race - zipping clear after the descent of the Poggio before being joined by Soren Kragh Andersen (who races today for Team DSM) ahead of a nail-biting finish on the via Roma.
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Highlights: Stuyven's late attack shocks the big boys at Milan-San Remo
185km remaining: Jumbo and BikeExchange on the front
It's the yellow-clad teammates of Primoz Roglic and Wout van Aert who are controlling the tempo on the front of the peloton, which trails the eight leaders by 6:25 ahead of the Turchino. It's the towering figure of Jos van Emden who's tapping out the pace. There's also a fair bit of baby blue from the Jayco-BikeExchange team of Michael Matthews. The Australian is riding his 11th edition of La Primavera and has twice finished third. The form since his switch from Sunweb is, admittedly, rather off. But this race is a great leveler and you never know what may happen.
200km remaining: 5:45 for the break
As the sun continues to shine on the plains of the Po valley, the eight-man breakaway are approaching the foot of the Passo del Turchino, which will be broadcast in its entirety for the first time. Last year's race was also on TV from start to finish but the route took in a different climb before dropping down to the coast ahead of the usual finish. It's a crazy long climb with a gentle average gradient of under 2%.
Who is here?
Despite the raft of illness-related withdrawals, it's still a classy start-list not least with the unexpected eleventh hour addition of Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman was not meant to start his road season until later this month but decided to fast-track his return after some positive sensations in training.
Prior to Van der Poel stealing the headlines, all talk was about the inclusion of Slovenian duo Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic - riders we usually associate more with Grand Tours and hilly classics. The in-form Pogacar has won every race he's entered this year while Roglic last weekend secured his first Paris-Nice crown. Of course, Roglic's Jumbo-Visma team also have the 2020 winner Wout van Aert, who will surely be the leader today. But you never know. It is his first appearance in this race since 2017. For Pogacar it's also a second appearance following his debut in 2020. He will spearhead UAE Team Emirates' squad today and will surely have a dig on both the Cipressa and Poggio.
The absence of Alaphilippe has opened the door to the peloton's fastest sprinter right now, the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen, who makes his San Remo debut. Can he get over the Poggio in touch? Heck, he might already be off the back after the Cipressa... With defending champion Jasper Stuyven out, Trek-Segafredo are handing a San Remo debut to Mads Pedersen - and the former world champion has been on tip top form.
Who's not here?
Where to start? The withdrawals came thick and fast last week with illness tearing through the pro peloton. French world champion Julian Alaphilippe pulled out with bronchitis and was swiftly followed by a flurry of sprinters in Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett, Sonny Colbrelli and defending champion Jasper Stuyven - all of whom would have stood a good chance of winning in the event of a bunch sprint. Most notably the Australian Ewan, twice a runner-up here on the via Roma.
Here's the route profile
Some things very rarely change – and that’s usually the case with Milan-San Remo. That said, the pandemic forced several route alterations to the 2020 edition while the Passo del Turchino was unpassable last year after a landslide. But it’s back to business in 2022 with a 293km route that includes the gentle 25km long Turchino (with its average gradient of 1.4%) ahead of the halfway point before the road plunges down to the Ligurian coast on the outskirts of Genoa.
From here the route hugs the Mediterranean with the first tests coming with the Capo Mele, Capo Cerva and Capo Berta triptych of climbs heralding the business end of the race. Forty kilometres remain after the third of these short tests as the riders zip towards the village of San Lorenzo al Mare, at the foot of the Cipressa.
The Cipressa is 5.5km long at an average gradient of 4.1% with a maximum tilt of 9% that can often shed some of the sprinters. But the major test comes 9km from the finish in the form of the infamous Poggio (3.7km at 3.7%). It’s here, on the steepest ramp of 8% around a kilometre from the summit, where the attacks come thick and fast.
For the last five editions the Poggio has proved the graveyard of the sprinters, with the winning moves materialising as the peloton fractured into pieces behind.
The summit is followed by a fast and technical 3.3km descent that winds its way through greenhouses towards San Remo. It’s here where Sean Kelly made the difference in 1992, making up eight seconds on Italy’s Moreno Argentin on his way to the last big win of his illustrious career. Once at the bottom, the riders face a zippy 2.2km ride to the finish on the via Roma.
Let's pick up the action... LIVE
Good morning - and it's a sunny one on this ridiculously long ride between Milan and San Remo on the Ligurian coast. The riders rolled out of the Milanese purlieus at around 09:20 this morning UK time. There was an attack from the outset and a breakaway quickly formed - an eight-man move which now holds a gap of 5:40 over the pack.
The riders in this break are: Yevgeniy Gidich and Artyom Zakharov (both Astana), Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizane), Filippo Tagliani and Ricardo Zurita (both Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), Samuele Rivi and Diego Sevilla (both EOLO-Kometa) and Filippo Conca (Lotto Soudal).
Here we go...
Milan-San Remo. Milano-Sanremo. La Primavera. La Classicissima. The Sprinters’ Classic. The One That Takes A Long Time To Get Going… Call it what you want. The first Monument of the season is upon us and takes place this Saturday with the habitual Cipressa-Poggio climax overlooking the Ligurian coast ahead of a fast finish on the via Roma. The longest one-day race in the professional calendar is a slow-building battle of attrition which rewards fans with what is usually one of the most thrilling finales in cycling.
Belgians Jasper Stuyven and Wout van Aert and Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe have won the previous three editions but with two of those riders ruled out, all eyes will be on two Slovenian heavyweights as Tadej Pogacar makes only his second appearance and Primoz Roglic also returns for his own first appearance in five years. Read on for all you need to know about the 113th edition of Milan-San Remo.
Who is racing?
The earlier withdrawals of 2019 champion Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) with bronchitis and defending champion Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) with sickness means Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) will probably take on the mantle as favourite. In the absence of Stuyven and Alaphilippe, Danish powerhouse Mads Pedersen steps up to make his debut for Trek while in-form Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen does the same for Quick-Step.
Fast finishers Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) will also be there, along with the likes of Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco), Peter Sagan (Team TotalEnergies), Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic), Gianni Moscon (Astana-Qazaqstan), Ivan Garcia (Movistar) and the 2016 winner, Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ).
After respective victories in Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, Slovenian duo Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) go head to head for the first time in 2022. Both riders feature for only the second time of their careers, with Roglic making his first appearance since 2017 and his compatriot looking to build on his 12th place in his 2020 debut.
British hopes lie with Ineos Grenadiers duo Ethan Hayter, who is making his debut, and Tom Pidcock, who finished 15th on his first appearance last year. Other former winners worth keeping an eye on include Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), John Degenkolb (Team DSM) and Alexander Kristoff (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert), but there’s no start for the 2018 champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana-Qazaqstan).
One rider who will be there despite initial reports is Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix). Thirteenth and fifth in his first two appearances, the rangy Dutchman was set to continue his rehabilitation and start his 2022 road season later in the month. But with so many riders pulling out, Van der Poel is bucking the trend by bringing forward his return to racing.
Should Belgian veteran Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) cause a surprise in his eighteenth and final appearance, he will become the fourth rider in history to win all five of cycling’s Monuments, in the tyre tracks of fellow Belgians Eddy Merckx, Roger De Vlaeminck and Rik Van Looy.
How can I watch?
Live coverage of the race will be available on Eurosport and discovery+ from 08:30 UK time, book-ended by The Breakaway.
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