Milan–San Remo 2019
The Milan-San Remo is an elite mens UCI WorldTour one day race - the first major classic of the year. The 2019 edition, which will be its 110th, will take place on the 23rd March. Starting in Central Milan, the Milan-San Remo is one of the most prestigious cycle races on the professional calendar, and one of the five ‘Monuments’ alongside the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia.
The current title holder is fellow Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team), who claimed a stunning solo victory after he attacked on the Poggio to deny Caleb Ewan (Team Mitchelton-Scott) and Arnaud Demare (Team Groupama - FDJ) the win. Ewan claimed second place with Demare in third. Nibali went clear on the Poggio before a strong descent to hold off the chasing peloton.
With a distance of just under 300 km, it one of the longest professional one-day races on the Tour. Generally, it’s considered as a sprinters Classic because of its mainly flat course, unlike the other Italian Classic, the Giro di Lombardia. However, the race ends with the famous Poggia which presents the perfect opportunity to attack to break away from the peloton and hold off the bunch sprint - exactly how Nibali did.
The Milan-San Remo 2019 favourites
The hot favourite will be former World Champion Peter Sagan (Team Bora-Hansgrohe), who finished in a disappointing sixth place in 2018. He’ll face a stern challenge from reigning champ Vincenzo Nibali, Fernando Gaviria (Team Quick-Step Floors), Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), Elia Viviani (Team Quick-Step Floors), 2017 winner Michael Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and 2016 winner Arnaud Demare.
Elsewhere, the challengers come in the form of current runner-up Caleb Ewan, 2014 winner and fourth place last year Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), Julian Alaphilippe (Team Quick-Step Floors), 2015 winner John Degenkolb (Team Trek - Segafredo) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team). If it comes down to a bunch sprint then the likes of Andre Greipel (Team Lotto Soudal) will also have an outside shot.