Milan San Remo - Gerrans Takes a Long, Hard One

Milan-San Remo is the longest one-day race on the cycling calendar, at over 300km when you count the neutralised section in Milan. So it's a tough one, and it looks like it was too tough for my top pick for victory, Mark Cavendish. The World Champion went backwards on the Le Manie climb. I know they say the camera adds 10 pounds, and horizontal stripes aren't flattering, but he did look a little chubby as he tried, and failed to get back in the race.

Another one of my picks was Fabian Cancellara. And when the real racing started on the Poggio,  he tore off down the road with Vincenzo Nibali and Simon Gerrans. I was pleased to see Spartacus doing so well....... until I remembered that I transferred him out of my team in a last minute change of heart. As the race unfolded I was hoping they'd get caught, but Cancellara hauled them to the line, only to be pipped by Gerrans in the sprint.

Gerrans has been around a while, and he's had a few Grand Tour stage wins, but today he landed the biggest win of his career when he crossed the line in San Remo. We might feel a bit bad for Spartacus, as he was the strongest, but Gerrans has had a couple of second places of his own recently. At the Tour Down Under.

And at Paris Nice.

The top three may have eluded me, but at least I had some consolation with the next two men home, as Peter Sagan and John Degenkolb led in the remains of the bunch just 2 seconds later. Also thereabouts were Bennati and Friere, which meant that the Bile Beans did enough to take the top spot the mini-league.

The Bile Beans may be off to an early lead, but the Classics season has only just begun. Next up is the Dwars door Vlaanderen. It might be time to think about a few transfers in your team, as many of the riders from MSR will not be making the trip up North for the next series of races. If you are wondering who's going to be racing, check out CyclingFever for some handy startlists.