If your attention was diverted anywhere but the television on Sunday, you missed one hell of a bike race.
Milan-San Remo, traditionally called the sprinter’s Classic, did not disappoint, as Alexander Kristoff of Norway successfully negotiated the Cipressa and Poggio to best the likes of Fabian Cancellara and Mark Cavendish.
Some regarded the Norwegian’s success as a surprise, but perhaps the only surprising thing from Sunday’s race is that Milan-San Remo may never again see such a finish.
The tension was palpable over the last 25 kilometres as ‘The Shark’ Vincenzo Nibali attempted to make a solo attack stick and ride into San Remo alone, while the peloton, mainly under the impetus of Cannondale, buried themselves in a bid to catch him.
His lead stuck at around a minute for a number of kilometres, and at one point it looked as if Nibali would be the first Italian winner of the race since Filippo Pozzato.
It is only on rare occasions where we have a climber as accomplished as Nibali trying to drop the front group, with Mark Cavendish still trying to hang on for a sprint finish.
There was stark contrast watching Cavendish first command the front of the peloton, then desperately scramble for wheels at the back when the camera panned to the slender frame of Nibali flying up the Cipressa.
It wasn’t to be for the Giro d’Italia champion however, and what followed was a sprint of attrition, a battle of who had the best legs after 299 kilometres of cold, hard racing.
The organisers of Milan-San Remo, RCS Sport, the same people who run the Giro d’Italia, have a balance unlike any other in their race. On this one day, punchers such as Philippe Gilbert and Peter Sagan, climbers such as Nibali, and sprinters such as Cavendish are all regarded favourites for the race, something unseen throughout the rest of the calendar.
And yet, next year there are plans to introduce the Pompeiana climb in between the Cipressa and the Poggio, virtually eliminating any chance of a sprint finish and all but ensuring the winner will be an accomplished climber and descender.
Change is a part of life, and of course a part of cycling, but adding another climb is taking the uncertainty out of Milan-San Remo, something that added to the beauty of the race.
Cycling, although becoming increasingly modern in its approach, has never completely abandoned its traditions, and the uncertainty of Milan-San Remo is one tradition that should be kept in place.
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