Rollin sole Canadian in 102nd Milan-San Remo

Dominique Rollin of Montreal will be the only Canadian on the start line Saturday for the 102nd edition of Milan-San Remo — the first major classic of 2011.

The 298-km Italian classic is famously unpredictable — seven hours of racing can produce odd results after the series of relatively small climbs in the finale — but in recent years it has largely fallen to sprinters like Oscar Freire (2010, 2007, 2004), Mark Cavendish (2009) or Alessandro Petacchi (2005). But punchier riders still occasionally succeed, including Fabian Cancellara (2008) and Filippo Pozzato (2006).

This year, Rollin has shown he has the right qualities to succeed in San Remo. So far this spring, riding with his new Francaise des Jeux team, he finished third in the final stage of the Dreidaagse Van West-Vlaanderen and fourth in two stages of the Tour of Qatar.

With no obvious leader in the team for Milan-San Remo, if Rollin is in good shape going into the final climbs Saturday he may well be given a chance to play his hand.

Click here for the full Milan-San Remo start list.