Milan – San Remo 2018: Nibali brings brilliant solo home

The 109th edition of Milan-San Remo amounts to 291 kilometres and, as so often, the decisive move takes place on the Poggio. Vincenzo Nibali goes alone and holds off the chasing peloton by a few bike lengths. Caleb Ewan sprints to second place, Arnaud Démare finishes in third. (Slideshow route/profile)

Results 2018 Milan – San Remo

1. Vincenzo Nibali (ita)
2. Caleb Ewan (aus) s.t.
3. Arnaud Démare (fra) s.t.
4. Alexander Kristoff (nor) s.t.
5. Jürgen Roelandts (bel) s.t.
6. Peter Sagan (svk) s.t.
7. Michael Matthews (aus) s.t.
8. Magnus Cort (den) s.t.
9. Sonny Colbrelli (ita) s.t.
10. Jasper Stuyven (bel) s.t.

Race report
The race starts in rainy and chilly conditions. Shortly after the start Dennis van Winden, Guy Sagiv, Matteo Bono, Mirco Maestri, Lorenzo Rota, Evgeny Kobernyak, Charles Planet, Sho Hatsuyama and Jacopo Mosca jump clear to race to a maximum lead of 7 minutes.

Before tackling the three Capo’s the sun joins the riders. After the Capo Berta the front group is down to Bono, Maestri, Rota and Van Winden, but the main group is close behind. Before the Cipressa they are reeled in and on the lower slopes Marcel Kittel is dropped.

Mark Cavendish crashes out just before tackling the Poggio, while Marcus Burghardt accelerates on the climb. Jean-Pierre Drucker joins him before he heads out alone. He is reeled in and then Krists Neilands jumps away with Vincenzo Nibali on his wheel. The Shark of Messina goes alone to crest the summit 12 seconds ahead of the main group.

In San Remo the gap is down to 9 seconds. During the nail-biting last kilometres the Italian holds off the chasing peloton and wins the race by just a few bike lengths. Caleb Ewan boosts his confidence and sprints to second place, while former winner Arnaud Demare comes in third.

So Nibali won the last Monument of 2017, the Tour of Lombardy, and continues by winning the first Monument of 2018.

Read also: route 2018 Milan – San Remo.