Milan - San Remo 2021 ***Spoilers***

ddraver

I have a few spare minutes....

SOURCE - All Photos ripped from Cycling Tips unless otherwise credited

Start List is pure cyclo-porn - https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/milan-san-remo-2-216650





Getty


Favourites - Anyone
Potentials - Anyone

Heart over head - Gilbert wins his 5th and final Monument and retires a legend. Sam Bennett who was climbing superbly at Paris Nice pulls off a win for the big boys.

For food & wine we move from Milan up into Piedmont then on to Liguria. Piedmont, being mountainous, is dominated by dairy and red meat. Eggy Pasta, bollito Misto and truffles and deep, red tannic wines from the Nebbiolo grape - Barolo and Barbaresco. For a more approachable version try a Barbera.

https://verietyinfo.com/belgiumfr/san-remo-un-itineraire-classique-mais-sans-le-passo-del-turcino/


Moving to lower altitudes in Liguria we enter the home of focaccia, minestrone and Pesto (student raver's idea of fine dining...). Liguria is also the spiritual home of the best herb in the world BASIL! The limestone in Liguria makes it particularly good for white wines given them a mineral taste (My geology brain is sending up red flags everywhere here 🤔 - but it makes a good excuse for those of us who may want a white wine during the race). Try a wine from Vermentino with a fragrant pine wood and sea salt aroma (cough..bu11shit...cough!)

TheBigBean

MvDP is the popular PTP pick, but isn't he going to get bored by the Cipressa and attack?

blazing_saddles

rick_chasey

Orecchiette? Up north? Mind blown.

blazing_saddles

rick_chasey said:

Orecchiette? Up north? Mind blown.

It was a generic post cos of the name.

Here's a 4 time winner of San Remo to make up for it.

bobmcstuff

Off Luke Rowe's Instagram

ddraver

This is good for attacks right?

(Come ooooon Phil!)

joe_totale-2

Those hairpin turns on the descents near the end could be fun with the extra speed everyone might be carrying into them.

yorkshireraw

Would love to see Phil Gil do it but can't see a scenario where he does get to the finish at the front, and isn't faced with a stronger rider or a whole bunch.
Everyone knows he wants it so any attack he does will be covered - he's not going in as a stalking horse.

rick_chasey

Think he'll struggle to hold the wheel of JA or MvdP on the Poggio tbh.

TheBigBean

rick_chasey said:

Think he'll struggle to hold the wheel of JA or MvdP on the Poggio tbh.

Depends entirely on his form though surely? A 2011 version would match them. I know that he won't have that level of form now, but he does have a habit of producing stunning performances in one off races every now and then.

yorkshireraw

rick_chasey said:

Think he'll struggle to hold the wheel of JA or MvdP on the Poggio tbh.

agreed. And if he does, he's then faced with JA or MVDP at the finish....

kingstongraham

I can't see JA getting away without at least one of them, and I can't see him winning the flat sprint against either.

blazing_saddles

kingstongraham said:

I can't see JA getting away without at least one of them, and I can't see him winning the flat sprint against either.

The one thing he has going for him is how, after he got his stage win, he toodled around Tirreno while the other two turned themselves inside out.

jam1e

Shouldn't this be in the "s*** small races" thread?

rick_chasey

lol at who flagged that.

rick_chasey

TheBigBean said:

rick_chasey said:

Think he'll struggle to hold the wheel of JA or MvdP on the Poggio tbh.

Depends entirely on his form though surely? A 2011 version would match them. I know that he won't have that level of form now, but he does have a habit of producing stunning performances in one off races every now and then.

Yeah maybe. He tends to show his form rather than have it come out the blue.

ddraver

rick_chasey said:

lol at who flagged that.

😇

rick_chasey

Do we have a view if MvdP is good going downhill? I know we think JA will commit and WvA can go down faster than him - how does MvdP stack up?

ddraver

First - outside of Ned Boulting's head - JA isnt actually that good - last year being a good example. WvA cruised across the gap on the downhill.

MvdP - probably the same as WvA but more likely to take all or nothing risks

kingstongraham

tailwindhome

The Inner Ring compared a Cancellara Paris Roubaix to an episode of Columbo. You know who did it, you just watch the full episode to find out how.

I think this MSR may be the same with MVDP as the killer.

andyp

rick_chasey said:

Do we have a view if MvdP is good going downhill? I know we think JA will commit and WvA can go down faster than him - how does MvdP stack up?

He can handle a bike.

phreak

The rest of the peloton can't just wait until the Poggio though, can they? It will be interesting to see if the presence of the big three prompts others to try and shake things up from further out.

rick_chasey

phreak said:

The rest of the peloton can't just wait until the Poggio though, can they? It will be interesting to see if the presence of the big three prompts others to try and shake things up from further out.

So if you're a DS of any team that isn't MvdP, you don't want it to be a particularly punchy final hour or so, as that's the MvdP sweet spot. He can just outride anyone over an hour or so. So you're happy to keep it together, unless maybe you're backing WvA, JA or possibly Gilbert or Nibali, for as long as possible.

Even then, if I was WvA, I would role the dice and just follow and ride with MvdP and chance the sprint.

If you're QS you play both sides, have JA go big on the poggio and hope Bennet and or Ballerini can hang onto the peloton up the Poggio.

if you're someone like a GvA or Naesen you go with the MvdP move and just hope there are enough numbers clear at the back end of the poggio to make it a tactical run in.

But there are still plenty of sprinters in the peloton so there will still be a lot of interest to keep it together for a sprint > you would definitely urge them to really gun it hard after the Poggio regardless as it would not be totally unforeseen that MvdP and WvA mark themselves out or blow it tactically.

RichN95.

phreak said:

The rest of the peloton can't just wait until the Poggio though, can they? It will be interesting to see if the presence of the big three prompts others to try and shake things up from further out.

The thing is I don't think that MVDP can either. Not tactically, just he seems to get bored easily. I just can't see him waiting that long.

rick_chasey

RichN95. said:

phreak said:

The rest of the peloton can't just wait until the Poggio though, can they? It will be interesting to see if the presence of the big three prompts others to try and shake things up from further out.

The thing is I don't think that MVDP can either. Not tactically, just he seems to get bored easily. I just can't see him waiting that long.

It's a monument though. Don't get many opportunities to arrive at a monument like MSR with such good form. Even the best riders ever only have this level going into the big races a few times a career.

RichN95.

rick_chasey said:

RichN95. said:

phreak said:

The rest of the peloton can't just wait until the Poggio though, can they? It will be interesting to see if the presence of the big three prompts others to try and shake things up from further out.

The thing is I don't think that MVDP can either. Not tactically, just he seems to get bored easily. I just can't see him waiting that long.

It's a monument though. Don't get many opportunities to arrive at a monument like MSR with such good form. Even the best riders ever only have this level going into the big races a few times a career.

I'm unconvinced that he thinks like that

bobmcstuff

RichN95. said:

rick_chasey said:

RichN95. said:

phreak said:

The rest of the peloton can't just wait until the Poggio though, can they? It will be interesting to see if the presence of the big three prompts others to try and shake things up from further out.

The thing is I don't think that MVDP can either. Not tactically, just he seems to get bored easily. I just can't see him waiting that long.

It's a monument though. Don't get many opportunities to arrive at a monument like MSR with such good form. Even the best riders ever only have this level going into the big races a few times a career.

I'm unconvinced that he thinks like that

You don't think maybe he does and this is a target event for him?

andyrac

andyp said:

rick_chasey said:

Do we have a view if MvdP is good going downhill? I know we think JA will commit and WvA can go down faster than him - how does MvdP stack up?

He can handle a bike.

I don't think that should be an issue; if you can stay with Nino et al on a rocky /rooty descent, a smooth tarmac one shouldn't pose too many problems.

shirley_basso

Don't forget what happened to MvdP at the worlds