Milan - San Remo | Swinging Heaven

21 Mar 2015

Pro cycling's first "Monument" of the season. Milan-San Remo ... Sunday 22nd March
A race of almost 300 km and 7 hours in the saddle. There may not be any mountains to climb, but this isn't for the faint hearted. I looked at the start list, and when I scribbled down the names of potential winners, I think I have 44 names on my list.
It's a race which generally favors the sprinters, and Kristoff won it well last year, and in conditions which are expected to be quite similar to this year. Kristoff has improved since last year, and that makes him a very solid selection to be involved in the finish. He's now the fav. at 5/1 with Paddy Power, and with Betfred and Boylesports, both of whom are paying 4 places for the Each Way. Mark Cavendish is also a previous winner, and is at 7/1 with again 4 places on offer Each Way. Cav. is faster than any of his rivals, but at the end of a test like this it won't always materialize, and he was suffering an illness just last week, so there are questions to ask. Ben Swift finished 3rd last year, after doing much of the donkey work himself as he tried to set up his team mate. There is no doubt that he could do better if things pan out for him, and expect him to be well supported this time. Of course Sky have other capable riders here, including Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas. Andre Greipel is also here, as is Dagenkolb, unlucky to puncture last year. So too is Peter Sagan, who is bound to be getting involved at the business end. Sagan's problem is that he's not as fast as the pure sprinters, and too fast for the punchy riders, so they won't want to lead him to the finish.
The puncheurs will attack late in the race. Watch out for Gilbert, Cancellara, Rui Costa, and my personal fancy for a crack at the win without the sprinters, Michael Kwiatkowski, best price 33/1 with BetVictor.
I also expect Movistar's Valverde, and in particular Lobato to get involved. This is probably the most difficult race on the calendar to predict, but it's one of the most fascinating too. A breakaway can expect to get around 10 minutes lead at best, then there will be numerous attacks in the latter third of the race. Expect riders like Gallopin and Wellens to liven things up in the last 30km, and the pack keeping the pace high as they try to give their sprinters a shot.
There will be betting in running, and live television coverage.

22 Mar 2015

The race, for the past few years, and largely due to increased media coverage and sponsorship, takes place on a Sunday. However, even now, it has historically marked the start of spring for many of the smaller towns and villages along the route.