Arnaud Demare (FDJ) ended France’s long wait for monument when he took the crown in Milan-San Remo. The Frenchman won the sprint by half a bike length over Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto-Soudal), with a late crash spoiling the chances for several riders.
Demare also suffered a crash on the Cipressa, but re-joined the front of the race on the slopes of Poggio before taking the win, courtesy of a perfectly-timed sprint.
The day was marked by numerous wrecks, the most crucial coming when Etixx-Quickstep rider Fernando Gaviria touched wheels and fell in the final few hundred metres. He knocked world champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) off his line and the Tinkoff rider was unable to regain his momentum after almost 300 kilometres or racing.
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The disrupted sprint was led out by Roelandts but Demare came past with a huge turn of speed to snatch the victory. He first made up ground to Roelandts, just as Nacer Bouhanni suffered a mechanical, before coming around the Lotto-Soudal rider. Swift tracked Demare all the way but was unable to overhaul the Frenchman.
“This is incredible. There are days like this one in which everything works despite the occasional hiccup, like crashing at the bottom of the Cipressa,” Demare said.
“I made it across at the bottom of the Poggio and the entire way I felt fantastic. I became the under-23 world champion in similar conditions after crashing. I'm delighted to win Milan-San Remo. This is a big one and has been running for over a century. It's extraordinary. I'm extremely happy."
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