The 2018 Milan–San Remo (known as Milano-Sanremo presented by NAMEDSPORT> for sponsorship reasons
) was a
road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...
one-day race that took place on 17 March 2018 in Italy. It was the 109th edition of the
Milan–San Remo
Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is ...
and the eighth event of the
2018 UCI World Tour
The 2018 UCI World Tour was a competition that included thirty-seven road cycling events throughout the 2018 men's cycling season. It was the tenth and final edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in ...
.
The race was won by
Vincenzo Nibali
), The Nibbler
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy
, height =
, weight =
, currentteam =
, discipline = Road
, role = Rider
, ridertype = Climber
, proyears1 = 2005
, proteam1 =
, proyears2 = 2006–2012
, protea ...
from the team, becoming the first Italian rider since
Filippo Pozzato
Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and two spells with the / teams.
A cycling classics, northern classics specialist, Pozza ...
in
2006 to win ''La Classicissima''. Nibali had attacked on the
Poggio di San Remo
The Poggio di San Remo is a hill in the Italian region Liguria, near San Remo.
Milan-Sanremo
It is mainly known from road cycling, as it is the final climb in the classic Milan–San Remo. The climb is 4 kilometers long with an average grad ...
, and managed to hold off the sprinters in the closing stages to seal victory.
Caleb Ewan
Caleb Ewan (born 11 July 1994) is an Australian road and track bicycle racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam . A sprinter, Ewan has a style similar to that of Mark Cavendish, taking an extremely low position that offers him an aerodynamic advantag ...
() led the sprinters home in second ahead of 's
Arnaud Démare
Arnaud Démare (born 26 August 1991) is a professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2011 he won the UCI World Under-23 Road Race Championships, and in 2016 he won the Milan–San Remo. He is one of five riders t ...
, the
2016 winner.
Teams
As Milan–San Remo was a
UCI World Tour
The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an ann ...
event, all eighteen
UCI WorldTeam
A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour
...
s were invited automatically and obliged to enter a team in the race. Seven UCI Professional Continental teams competed, completing the 25-team peloton. Each team was allowed to bring seven riders to the race, leading to a field made up of 175 riders.
Route
As one of the sports
monuments
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...
, Milan–San Remo – generally considered to be a sprinters' classic – is among the highest-rated races in professional cycling. The 2018 route was initially scheduled to be long, running from the Via della Chiesa Rossa in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
to the traditional finish on
San Remo's Via Roma. The final part of the race included the climbs of the Cipressa and the Poggio, which usually prove decisive for the race outcome. Also on the route, the riders also had to tackle the climb of the Passo dello Turchino, although it was not considered to be a key point in the race. After the Turchino, the route followed the Aurelia road along the coast from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...
all the way to the finish in Sanremo. With a little over left to go, the first of the coastal climbs started with the Capo Mele, the Capo Cervo and the Capo Berta, before meeting the final two climbs leading to the finish.
The day before the race, it was announced that the race was to be lengthened to with a diversion after the original mark, at
Basaluzzo
Basaluzzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria.
Basaluzzo borders the following municipalities: Bosco Marengo, Capriat ...
.
Pre-race favourites
Three-time world champion
Peter Sagan
Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovakia, Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-c ...
() was considered the highest ranked favourite for the victory. Unlike others in the field, he was considered as a rider who could win both through a bunch sprint as well as a late attack on the final climb. He came into the race with good form, having finished second on three stages of
Tirreno–Adriatico
Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of the season, it is considered to be an important pre ...
, a stage race held before Milan–San Remo.
Michał Kwiatkowski
Michał Kwiatkowski ( , born 2 June 1990) is a Polish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Kwiatkowski is seen as a strong all rounder, with good sprinting, time-trialling and climbing abilities allowing hi ...
(), the defending champion, was also considered a strong favourite, as he had won the general classification at Tirreno–Adriatico.
Julian Alaphilippe
Julian Alaphilippe (born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-fold UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe.
Career Ea ...
(), who was third in
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, was also counted among the favourites for the race. While Kwiatkowski and Alaphilippe were considered to have to rely on a breakaway on one of the final climbs, several sprinters were counted among the favourites if a larger group reached the finish line together.
[ ]2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
winner Alexander Kristoff
Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2007 and 2011. His biggest victories have been the 2014 Milan� ...
() was among them, as was Arnaud Démare
Arnaud Démare (born 26 August 1991) is a professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2011 he won the UCI World Under-23 Road Race Championships, and in 2016 he won the Milan–San Remo. He is one of five riders t ...
(), who won the race in 2016, but had to withdraw from Paris–Nice
Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlook ...
due to a cold.
Other strong sprinters at the start line were Elia Viviani
Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the Giro d'Italia, winning stage 2 in a bunch sprint before Moreno ...
(), Matteo Trentin
Matteo Trentin (born 2 August 1989) is an Italian professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career Professional career
In 2014, Trentin took a prestigious victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France, where he won the spri ...
(), Edvald Boasson Hagen
Edvald Boasson Hagen (born 17 May 1987) is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He was ranked as no. 3 in the world by UCI as of 31 August 2009, when he was 22 years old. He is known as an all-rounder, having ...
(), Magnus Cort
Magnus Cort Nielsen (born 16 January 1993) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career Orica–GreenEDGE (2015–17)
In June 2014, World Tour team signed Cort for three years, starting from the ...
(), André Greipel
André Greipel (born 16 July 1982) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2021. Since his retirement, Greipel now works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team .
Born in Rostock, Eas ...
() and Marcel Kittel
Marcel Kittel (born 11 May 1988) is a German former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2019 for the , and squads. As a junior, he specialised in time trials, even winning a bronze medal in the World Championships for cycli ...
(), who took part in the race for the first time.[ Michael Matthews (), usually also a favourite, was not given a strong chance due to a fractured shoulder,] suffered three weeks prior at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and ...
. 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
winner John Degenkolb
John Degenkolb (born 7 January 1989) is a German professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His biggest wins to date are the 2015 Milan–San Remo and the 2015 Paris–Roubaix, two of cycling's five monuments. He i ...
() missed the race due to illness, as did his teammate Giacomo Nizzolo
Giacomo Nizzolo (born 30 January 1989) is an Italian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career Leopard Trek (2011–18)
Nizzolo took his first win at UCI World Tour level in August 2012, on stage 5 of the Eneco Tour. He laun ...
. Fernando Gaviria
Fernando Gaviria Rendón (born 19 August 1994) is a Colombian professional road and track racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is well known as a sprinter. Riding for the Colombian national cycling team, Gaviria came to int ...
() also missed the race, because of a fractured hand suffered at Tirreno–Adriatico. His teammate Philippe Gilbert
Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the thr ...
, who had finished on the podium of Milan–San Remo twice before, aimed at a victory to get closer to his goal of winning all five "monument races" of cycling.[ More riders considered to potentially play their hand on one of the climbs before the finish were ]Vincenzo Nibali
), The Nibbler
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy
, height =
, weight =
, currentteam =
, discipline = Road
, role = Rider
, ridertype = Climber
, proyears1 = 2005
, proteam1 =
, proyears2 = 2006–2012
, protea ...
(), Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet
Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a Belgian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet is a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also ...
(), Gianni Moscon
Gianni Moscon (born 20 April 1994) is an Italian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in the road race.
Early life and career
Moscon grew up in the apple farms north of Trento ...
() and Nathan Haas
Nathan Peter Haas (born 12 March 1989) is an Australian cyclist. He competed as a professional road racer until the end of 2021. He started competing full time in gravel events 2022.
Career Early career
Born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, ...
().[
]
Race report
The race started in heavy rain in Milan. The rolling start took place at 10:13 am local time at the Via della Chiesa Rossa outside of the city. An early breakaway formed, consisting of Mirco Maestri
Mirco Maestri (born 26 October 1991) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia.
Major results
;2015
: 2nd Trofeo Città di Brescia
: 2nd Memorial Vincenzo Mantovani
: ...
and Lorenzo Rota
Lorenzo Rota (born 23 May 1995) is an Italian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career
He rode at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships, and was named in the start list for the 2017 Giro d'Italia.
Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Maté ...
(both ), Evgeny Kobernyak
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Kobernyak (russian: Евгений Александрович Коберняк; born 24 January 1995) is a Russian former professional cyclist, who rode professionally for the team in 2018 and 2019.
Major results
;2017
: 3r ...
(), Guy Sagiv
Guy Sagiv ( he, גיא שגיב; born 5 December 1994) is an Israeli cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . In May 2018, he was named in the startlist for the Giro d'Italia.
Personal life
He is in a relationship with Israeli cyclist Omer Shapira.
...
and Dennis van Winden (both ), Sho Hatsuyama
is a Japanese former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2011 and 2019 for the , and teams. His first victory in a road race as a professional was in the 2013 Tour de Okinawa, which he won after the first-place finisher was d ...
(), Charles Planet (), Matteo Bono
Matteo Bono (born 11 November 1983) is an Italian former road bicycle racer
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...
() and Jacopo Mosca
Jacopo Mosca (born 29 August 1993) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In May 2018, he was named in the startlist for the Giro d'Italia. In August 2019, he was named in the startlist for the 2019 Vuelta a España.
M ...
(). The maximum time gap the group held was six minutes after about an hour of racing.
The ''peloton
In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
'' began to pull back on the Passo Turchino climb, cutting the break's lead to 4:30 minutes by the summit, though it extended back to five minutes as the riders reached the sea front. With the roads still wet, a crash in the field involved both Kristoff and Greipel among others. With of the race to go, the rain eased up. By the first of the so-called Capi climbs from the finish, the breakaway's lead was down to two minutes. At the Cappo Berta, with left, the lead had decreased further to half a minute, while the high tempo in the field distanced Marcel Kittel. Maestri attacked from the break on the descent, taking Rota, van Winden, and Bono with him. However, they were caught at San Lorenzo al Mare
San Lorenzo al Mare ( lij, San Loénso) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,409 an ...
, before the finish.[
As the field reached the climb of the Cipressa, more riders failed to keep contact with the field's high pace. However, no major attacks were launched. At the base of the Poggio climb, and set the tempo. ]Mark Cavendish
Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a track cyclist he specialises in the madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he is a s ...
() had to retire after a spectacular accident in which he hit a traffic bollard and crashed onto the road. Marcus Burghardt
Marcus Burghardt (born 30 June 1983) is a former German professional road bicycle racer, who has retired from professional racing as a result of a severe wrist injury suffered at the Tour of Poland in 2021, where he crashed at a roundabout clos ...
() led the first acceleration on the climb, with Jempy Drucker
Jean-Pierre "Jempy" Drucker (born 3 September 1986) is a retired Luxembourgish professional racing cyclist.
Career
Fidea (2004–2008)
Born in Sandweiler, Drucker signed with in 2004, a team specializing in cyclo-cross, at age 18. He rode with ...
() following. Drucker moved past Burghardt but was reeled back by the squad. Krists Neilands
Krists Neilands (born 18 August 1994) is a Latvian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career Israel Cycling Academy (2017–present)
In 2017, Kuldīga-born Neilands won the Latvian National Road Race Championships, and stage 5 at ...
() attacked shortly before the summit and Vincenzo Nibali reacted, leaving Neilands shortly thereafter and heading towards the finish on his own. His lead at the summit was 12 seconds. Matteo Trentin
Matteo Trentin (born 2 August 1989) is an Italian professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career Professional career
In 2014, Trentin took a prestigious victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France, where he won the spri ...
() tried to counter the attack on the descent, but was unable to do so. At the bottom of the descent, Nibali's lead was nine seconds over a larger group of riders. Alaphilippe set the pace as they tried to reach Nibali before the line, but to no avail. Nibali won the race just ahead of Caleb Ewan and Arnaud Démare, who led out the sprint from the group behind.[ It was Nibali's third victory in one of cycling's "monument" races, having won ]Il Lombardia
The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...
twice before. He was also the first Italian to win the race since Filippo Pozzato
Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and two spells with the / teams.
A cycling classics, northern classics specialist, Pozza ...
in 2006.
Post-race
Following his victory, Nibali thanked his teammates for their efforts. He described the final kilometres of the race as "endless – pure suffering." He added: "I was very cold and calculating. I knew I was working for the team. When I attacked, I knew I had to go alone, and it was that way". Second-placed Caleb Ewan stated that he was surprised to have been so close to victory. He felt that the race had gone his way, adding: "All that went wrong for us is that Vincenzo was too strong." Sixth-placed Peter Sagan congratulated Nibali on his win, saying: "He deserves it. None of us had any means against his attack."
Mark Cavendish's crash, which left him with a broken rib, caused him to miss the 2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, ...
. André Greipel, who suffered two crashes in the last of the race, was forced to miss the rest of the spring classics season due to a broken collarbone.
Result
Results show only the top-ten finishers.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milan-San Remo, 2018
2018 in Italian sport
2018 UCI World Tour
March 2018 sports events in Italy
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
2018 in road cycling