Germany’s John Degenkolb dominated a bunch sprint to win the 106th edition of the Milano-Sanremo one-day classic, held over 293km, on Sunday.
Team Giant-Alpecin’s Degenkolb finished nearly a bike’s length ahead of defending champion Alexander Kristoff of Norway, with Australian Michael Matthews completing the podium in a time of 6 hours, 46 minutes.
It was Degenkolb’s maiden Milano-Sanremo title, but he becomes the second German in three races to triumph, following Gerald Ciolek’s 2013 win.
Photo: EPA
“It’s really a fantastic moment,” a delighted Degenkolb told Rai Sport. “The race happened exactly as we hoped it would. I really love this place... four years in a row I’ve been here trying to win this race. I know the course, and the Via Roma, it’s special to win here. It’s amazing.”
The result was the biggest win of Degenkolb’s career and should establish him as one of the top one-day classic specialists.
Already last year he finished second at Paris-Roubaix and won Ghent-Wevelgem, while he was ninth in last September’s World Championships, having finished fourth the year before.
While not an out-and-out sprinter, he is the type of sprinter-puncher who comes into his own when the finish to a race proves too lumpy for true sprinters.
The 26-year-old won four stages on last year’s Vuelta a Espana and five on the 2012 edition, while he also won one stage at the 2013 Giro d’Italia.
An 11-man breakaway provided some early drama in the season’s first of five “monuments,” but after building a lead of just over 10 minutes their bid gradually frittered away.
They were reeled in before the final, decisive, climbs of the Cipressa and Poggio set the scene for a number of breakaway attempts which ultimately came to nothing.
Welshman Geraint Thomas was one of three Team Sky riders who pulled away from the peloton on the Cipressa and when they were joined by five other riders they went on to build a small advantage, but counterattacks by BMC Racing and then Etixx-Quick Step rider Zdenek Stybar ultimately brought the peloton back together with 24.5km remaining.
The pace on the way to the summit left several big names hanging off the back of the peloton, with Kristoff and Britain’s Mark Cavendish, the 2009 champion, looking in trouble.
Although Italy’s last race winner, Filippo Pozzato, pushed the pace on the descent, an attack by BMC’s Daniel Oss tempted Thomas into another counter.
With the final climb, the Poggio, still to come, the pair managed to build their lead on the peloton to 30 seconds, but they were never allowed to break free.
They started the ascent with a 17-second lead and soon after Thomas took things into his own hands when he rode away from Oss to go it alone.
However, Thomas’ effort was over with 4.6km to go as the peloton began the winding descent toward the finish line on Via Roma.
On the 400m long home straight, Kristoff was pushed into launching his sprint with 300m to go.
Degenkolb, on the left of the Norwegian’s wheel, bided his time, before hitting top speed in the closing 100m to win convincingly.
“At first I thought I had no chance of winning this race because the sprint went really early,” Degenkolb said. “Kristoff was really strong, but he started to sprint early and it was just a little bit too long for him. I was lucky he died just before the finish line, so I managed to overtake him.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just