Milan - Sanremo 2016 **spoilers**

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Demare accused of getting a tow from the team car.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rid...-a-tow-from-a-team-car-during-milan-san-remo/

Demare is being interviewed later today by French TV, should be interesting (if they ask him the right questions!)

 

[Flying_Monkey]

I'm shocked that the Italian press is accusing a French winner of the MSR of cheating. Shocked.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

It would appear from Twitter that Demare's ride was on Strava for about 10 seconds before it was removed. Unfortunately for him that was long enough for some of his data to be recorded as KOMs e.g. 2.33 for a 1.7km segment on the Cipressa climb, Visconti was 2.40 and the bunch averaged 2.50. Hardly "stunning" speeds but it might be an indication he was aided in some way; perhaps not to the extent suggested in the cyclingnews article.

 

[BSRU]

Shows the KOM in question.
https://twitter.com/hendriksmj/status/711548834967625730/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

And Demare makes his strava file public:
https://www.strava.com/activities/521963982

 

[smutchin]

The official all-time record for the full 5.7km of the Cipressa is 9.36 set by Francesco Casagrande in 2001. Démare's time yesterday was 10.02, an average speed of 33.7kmh. That doesn't strike me as particularly suspicious. It's not the hardest of climbs.

We would need to know the times set by other non-Strava riders to make a fair assessment of his ride yesterday.

 

[rich p]

His is the fastest time since Strava though, which is mildly unexpected though.
Albeit they were climbing it slowly yesterday to begin with IIRC

 

[Crackle]

First French winner for decades. L'equipe won't care if he was sat on the roofrack of the team car facing backwards.

 

[smutchin]

His is the fastest time since Strava though

Only among those who post their rides on Strava. Do we know how fast Nibali went up the Cipressa yesterday? What about Stannard?

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Demare says "I have nothing to reproach myself. I have done nothing wrong. There are referees in cycling. If I had done something forbidden, I would have been disqualified..."
http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-...-tricherie-je-n-ai-rien-a-me-reprocher/645166

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

And an Italian website claim they have photographic "proof" although, to me, it looks as if that is a white bike and Demare's bike yesterday was blue.

http://www.tuttobiciweb.it/index.php?page=news&cod=88389&tp=n

 

[Berk on a Bike]

This nails him...

 

[Berk on a Bike]

But seriously folks, peeps on the Twitter are saying it isn't Demare and it isn't the Cipressa. Contentious!

(the original photo, not my post)

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Vichot at Turchino seems a popular twitter guess

 

[rich p]

I've read elsewhere that the French press are incandescent that Demare is being accused without any evidence.
Chris Froome must be apoplectic!