Milan-San Remo is a race that crescendos like no other. Once again, the build-up was long and slow but the seven hours of calm were more than redeemed by a breathless final 15 minutes over the Poggio and onto the Via Roma, where Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) claimed a solo victory that will live long in the memory.
The Italian went clear on the Poggio, flew down the vertiginous descent, and held off the chasing peloton in the final two kilometres. It was an absolute nail-biter of a finale but Nibali was a picture of cool as he sat up and celebrated in the final 50 metres while futile sprints were unfurled behind.
Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) was the best of the rest, backing up his 10th place debut last year, while 2016 champion Arnaud Démare (FDJ) was third, but the day belonged to one man.
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Already a winner of all three Grand Tours and twice Il Lombardia champion, Nibali adds another dimension to his palmares with a third Monument victory. He also ends 12 years of hurt in becoming the first Italian to triumph at La Primavera since Pippo Pozzato in 2006.
Beyond the finish line he was mobbed by his entourage and the Italian fans, and the exhaustion soon made way for exhilaration. "I don't have words," he told the TV cameras.
Nibali was nominally working alongside teammate Sonny Colbrelli as an unaggressive race, which started out in driving rain before being slowed by a headwind on the Ligurian coast, seemed destined to culminate in a bunch sprint. As it was, he almost went away by stealth on the Poggio, following an attack from Krists Neilands (Israel Cycling Academy) before finding himself alone with a surprisingly big gap over the large bunch.
How it happened
Sun shines and speeds rise
Calm on the Cipressa
Poggio springboard
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Race Results http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/milan-san-remo-2018/results
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