# Milan-Sanremo 2018 ***spoilers***



## smutchin (14 Mar 2018)

Mind games are starting ahead of saturday’s race..
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/peter-sagan-and-kwiatkowski-in-a-war-of-words-before-milan-san-remo/


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## Crackle (14 Mar 2018)

Cutting response from Kwiatkowski

"Sometimes you don't win the races by being strongest, but you need to be the smartest,"

Followed by a mike drop. I think he wins that war of words.


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## smutchin (14 Mar 2018)

Excellent! Let's hope the actual race is this exciting.

Kwiatkowski and Sagan both look in superb form so should both be there at the business end of the race again.


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## Adam4868 (14 Mar 2018)

Looking forward to this race,I've a lot of time for Kwiatowski.He has to be one of the best all round riders there is,and humble with it !


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## rich p (14 Mar 2018)

I hope it rains all day so I don't have any couch potato guilt.


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## brommers (14 Mar 2018)

rich p said:


> I hope it rains all day so I don't have any couch potato guilt.


There's nothing more satisfying than taking your Missus for a two-hour trek around Tesco on a Saturday afternoon.


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## Andrew Br (14 Mar 2018)

brommers said:


> There's nothing more satisfying than taking your Missus for a two-hour trek around Tesco on a Saturday afternoon.



Does Rich know that you take his wife to Tesco on Saturdays ?

As for the race, this is one that I find it hard to get in to and I'm not sure why.
I'm working Saturday (not at Tesco) so I'll be watching the catch-up on Eurosport when I get home.
I'd like Gilbert to win as part of his "win all 5 Monuments" but I'm not optimistic for his chances.


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## smutchin (14 Mar 2018)

I'd have liked to see Bardet lining up for this one after his recent performances. No chance in a bunch sprint finish but if he could attack on the Poggio and stay away on the descent... Maybe!


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## brommers (15 Mar 2018)

I looked at his twitter site - he's a bit of a wag.


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

Surprised to see Matthews starting - just a few weeks since his shoulder fracture. Nails.

And Cav riding with broken ribs. Nutter.


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

Off the Cipressa now. Pace really hotting up... FDJ obviously fancy Demare’s chances.


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## roadrash (17 Mar 2018)

Greipel doing well still at the front of the group, after a fall in the feed zone


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

Lots and lots of big names still in the mix. Is it going to explode on the Poggio?


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## roadrash (17 Mar 2018)

oh that looks nasty for cav


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

Cav down!

That looked nasty.


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## roadrash (17 Mar 2018)

was it marshalled that yellow bin


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## Bollo (17 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> was it marshalled that yellow bin


Didn't look like it


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## roadrash (17 Mar 2018)

the shark attacks


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

Nibbles!


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## Bollo (17 Mar 2018)

He's won this.


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## Bollo (17 Mar 2018)

11 seconds at 4.5k


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## Bollo (17 Mar 2018)

Bollo said:


> He's won this.


Or not?


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

Fantastic finish.


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## rich p (17 Mar 2018)

Brilliant attack - deserved to win


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## Winnershsaint (17 Mar 2018)

Fantastic ride by the Shark!


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## roadrash (17 Mar 2018)

brilliant finish , enjoyed that


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## Bollo (17 Mar 2018)

That was awesome. I had the headphones in so probably just shouted the house down.


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## Siclo (17 Mar 2018)

Wow. Thought Nibbles was going to get caught, very impressive.

Cav's having the season from hell.


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## roadrash (17 Mar 2018)

if it wasn't for bad luck then cav would have no luck at all


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## Foghat (17 Mar 2018)

Gripping finale.......and always nice to see the sprinters handed their a*ses by a climber, even if it's an unsavoury one like Nibali.


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## Siclo (17 Mar 2018)

Looking at Cav's crash again, that's horrendous, one of the worst I've seen for a long time. I'm not his biggest fan but I hope he's OK, I'll be amazed if he hasn't broke something serious.


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## smutchin (17 Mar 2018)

He already had some broken ribs. That crash isn’t going to have helped them with the healing process.


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## mjr (17 Mar 2018)

Foghat said:


> Gripping finale.......and always nice to see the sprinters handed their a*ses by a climber, even if it's an unsavoury one like Nibali.


It looked like they were all leaving it to Quick Step to lead out again. When will they learn?


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## Siclo (17 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> He already had some broken ribs. That crash isn’t going to have helped them with the healing process.



Yep, it's his pelvis and spine I'm concerned about, that's no way to part company from your steed. The divider he hit wasn't marshalled or highlighted at all, unsighted by the two riders who did just miss it, he didn't stand a chance


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## Foghat (17 Mar 2018)

And where was Carl Sagan's "the show's more important than the win" mantra hiding today?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (17 Mar 2018)

The Dimension Data team doc has tweeted there are no serious injuries for Cavendish.
Lotto Soudal tweeted they think Greipel has a broken collarbone.


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## mjr (17 Mar 2018)

Siclo said:


> Yep, it's his pelvis and spine I'm concerned about, that's no way to part company from your steed. The divider he hit wasn't marshalled or highlighted at all, unsighted by the two riders who did just miss it, he didn't stand a chance


It did look a bit of an odd island, coming just after the end of the roundabout entry/exit splitter one and with only a yellow marker (one of those giant water-filled ones?) at one end - the wrong end, as far as the race was concerned. Not sure why they'd not stuck a bale or something on one end.

Now, does anyone want to go look at past years and see if that island is new or changed?


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## bpsmith (17 Mar 2018)

It looks like Cab’s landing was nigh on perfect for minimising the Damage. Still don’t fancy trying that though.


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## Fight.The.Power (17 Mar 2018)

What a fantastic win for Nibbles. How he kept the Peloton behind him in last two km I’ll never know.

Awful crash for Cav. But could have been much worse.


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## Mike_P (17 Mar 2018)

http://africasteam.com/2018/03/17/update-mark-cavendish/

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka can confirm that, thankfully, Mark Cavendish sustained no serious injury following a major crash within 10 kilometres of the finish of Milan-Sanremo on Saturday.

The 32-year-old fell heavily after striking a bollard and was immediately assisted by race medical personnel, after which he was taken to a local hospital.

Following medical imaging, it was determined that he avoided major injury in the incident.

He did sustain a new rib fracture (5th) on the same side as the one that he damaged in the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico (7th).

He also has bruising and abrasions consistent with the scale of the crash as well as a possible “ligamentous ankle injury” that will require further assessment once he returns home on Saturday.

The team would like to extend a big thanks to everybody who has sent messages of concern; and we will keep you updated as and when, should additional information become available.


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## mjr (17 Mar 2018)

Breaking another rib isn't a serious injury?


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## bpsmith (17 Mar 2018)

Not compared to collar bone or vertebrae, I guess.


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## Siclo (18 Mar 2018)

Serious enough for most of us, the ankle will be from tearing his foot out of his shoe, he left it on the island


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## 400bhp (18 Mar 2018)

Thank god cav is relatively ok. It looked much worse on tv.

Utter class from Nibs. I had a lump in my throat watching that. Utter respect for someone to go from 3k or so before the top of the poggio


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## Adam4868 (18 Mar 2018)

Only got chance to watch that late last night,class ride by Nibali.The rest of the bunch took their eye of the ball with him ! Too much looking at each other ? 
Good ride by Ewan aswell for a second place.


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## Bollo (18 Mar 2018)

I’m not aware that this was caught in the coverage but it looks like Greipel did his collarbone coming down the Poggio. I wondered where he’d gone.

http://www.velonews.com/2018/03/new...shes-heavily-greipel-breaks-collarbone_460002


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## Bollo (18 Mar 2018)

Adam4868 said:


> Only got chance to watch that late last night,class ride by Nibali.The rest of the bunch took their eye of the ball with him ! Too much looking at each other ?
> Good ride by Ewan aswell for a second place.


I don’t think this was as much a mistake by the bunch as a game theory masterclass from Nibali. The INRNG post-match used the word Zugzwang, which I’ve never heard before but described the situation in the chasing group perfectly. 

I’d love to know whether NIbali’s decision to go was purely instinctive or more calculated.


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## smutchin (18 Mar 2018)

Adam4868 said:


> The rest of the bunch took their eye of the ball with him ! Too much looking at each other ?



His teammates briefly blocked the front of the peloton to stop anyone going after him. 

Then they just couldn’t close the gap on the descent.


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## rich p (18 Mar 2018)

Bollo said:


> I don’t think this was as much a mistake by the bunch as a game theory masterclass from Nibali. The INRNG post-match used the word Zugzwang, which I’ve never heard before but described the situation in the chasing group perfectly.
> 
> I’d love to know whether NIbali’s decision to go was purely instinctive or more calculated.


I shall try to use that in conversation!

The commentator suggested that the other 3 (?) Bahrain riders blocked the chase for a vital few seconds, and plus the usual hesitation where no-one wants to commit zugzwang...


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## Shadow (18 Mar 2018)

I have never been a huge fan of Nibbles but that has now changed. I agree with Adam^^, that was pure class. Tactically astute, perfect timing. I heard years ago that if you have a 10 second lead over the top of the Poggio, you can win. I never thought this would be possible with a fast peloton bearing down. Very glad to have been proven wrong and to have now seen it.
What were the others thinking? He was leading out for Colbrelli? 
Brilliant. 
Must look up zugzwang!


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## smutchin (18 Mar 2018)

Shadow said:


> What were the others thinking? He was leading out for Colbrelli?



That’s the beauty of having two potential winners in the lead group. Astana played similar tactics at the Omloop.


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## grellboy (19 Mar 2018)

Mate at work showed me a screenshot of his friend's betting slip today. Apparently this fella doesn't know much about cycling but he thought Vincenzo Nibali was wall worth 4 quid at....150 to 1!!!!! Bookies really don't know much about cycling do they. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't see the evidence myself.


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## chriscross1966 (19 Mar 2018)

Damn, it's always worth a punt on the Shark at those sort of odds...


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## roadrash (20 Mar 2018)

cofidis have pulled boohoohani from the race stating he hasn't recovered from bronchitis


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## mjr (20 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> cofidis have pulled boohoohani from the race stating he hasn't recovered from bronchitis


What, a few days after it?


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## roadrash (20 Mar 2018)

ahh wrong thread


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