Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff wins 105th Milan-San Remo
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the 105th Milan-San Remo under unpleasantly cold and wet weather conditions along the Ligurian coast of Italy on Sunday. He outpaced Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) and Ben Swift (Team Sky) in a sprint to the line.
Only 25 riders finished the nearly 300-km classic in the front group.
Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge), who resides in B.C., and Hugo Houle (Ag2r-La Mondiale), who lives in Quebec were the two Canadians on the start line. Italy-born Davide Frattini (UnitedHealthcare), who now resides in Canada and trains full-time in Barrie, Ont., was also competing.
The race kicked off in Milan with a seven-rider breakaway that included Jan Barta (Netapp-Endura), Marc de Maar (UnitedHealthcare), Maarten Tjallingii (Belkin), Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Nicola Boem (Bardiani-CSF) and Antoinio Parrinello (Androni Giocattoli). They gained a maximum of 10 minutes and stayed away much of the race.
The last rider, Tjallingii, was caught after the Cipressa, on the way to the Poggio, which are the final two climbs of the race.
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) had made the first decisive attack from the peloton partway up the Cipressa but he was caught on the Poggio in the final 10 km.
Some 25Â riders crested Poggio and galloped to the finish line with Kristoff taking the sprint win. Tuft finished 89th and Houle 114th place.
I wanted to finish my first MSR but after 230k of cold/rain I was shaking and frozen. Happy for the teamwork and the epic ride @MarcdeMaar
— Davide Frattini (@davidefrattini) March 23, 2014
On days like today I wished I have extra body fat.Next time I’ll add even more clothing to my rainbag @UHCprocycling #Neverstoplearning
— Davide Frattini (@davidefrattini) March 23, 2014
OUCH, journée très difficile avec la pluie et le froid. La lumière du check engine c’est allumé au pied de la… http://t.co/oAPkJyZolj
— Hugo Houle (@HugoHoule) March 23, 2014
What a day for me! Thanks for all support! Also so happy to have Luca with me at the end, setting me up perfectly!!
— Alexander Kristoff (@Kristoff87) March 23, 2014
Congratulations to @Kristoff87 for a strong ride & sprint today. Glad to see his deserved big win has arrived.
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) March 23, 2014
After 294 cold/wet km’s, I had to go for broke (win or nothing) & start my sprint early. It didn’t pay off, but I gave my all #MilanoSanremo
— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) March 23, 2014
I did my best what was possibili today. I think this was the best i could get. super team effort from all @TrekFactory #cold #Rain #Rain
— Fabian cancellara (@f_cancellara) March 23, 2014
