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Milano San Remo Discussion Thread
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| whitejersey |
Posted on 05-11-2026 17:56
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Classics Specialist
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Joined: 07-08-2011
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 Milano San Remo
Takes a deep breath Italy. The boot shaped country in Southern Europe, famed for its impact all throughout history. Notorious for its hate for disrespecting tradition and known for proud sporting achievements, even if the glory days for the most part is beyond them. One of those traditions is the monument of Milano San Remo. The daunting day under the Italian winter sun. Last year’s winner Mauri Vansevenant and the rest of the pack traversed the rolling nearly 300km parcours in 6 hours and 21 minutes last year, safe to say that is not what you would call a regular day at the job.
And Milano San Remo is anything but regular, its sheer length makes it a daunting task for the most daring sprinters that feel audacious enough to challenge the greatest puncheurs in the world as the riders towards the end of the race goes over the iconic Cipressa and Poggio climbs that have put many a man into the dust over the years.
And while the early history of the race was dominated by domestic heroes claiming the wins, long gone are the times of Pozzato, Ricco and Ballan taking career defining victories. Ricco’s win in 2014 is the most recent Italian win which marks this as potentially the 12th edition in a row to not have an Italian winner. Last year Andrea Bagioli came agonizingly close to breaking the curse but was unable to keep up with Vansevenant in the sprint. Speaking of sprinting if the pack is able to stay together this year, we might finally see a jubilant Italian with his arms raised to sky as the highest rated sprinter was born around 2 hours away from the start line in Milano. Without further ado let’s get into the favourites list:
The aforementioned sprinter is of course  Dainese. The Italian got an off season bump to his sprinting abilities and has been a relatively consistent feature in the Pro Tour sprints so far this season. However, with most recent editions not going down to a traditional bunch sprint he might not be top of podium come end of the day. Other strong sprinting options include  Cullaigh,  Farantakis and  Philipsen who all three should be in the running for some actual strong results but none of them have really made a big splash in this monument in recent memory.  Kanter has also had some bright spots this year and could be an outside chance on your parlay but it’s one of those that you don’t expect to hit. Further down the pure sprinting ability list we find riders such as  Pedersen who won the race in 2022,  Ackermann who has the skillset to follow the puncheurs should the race that route as well as  Groves whose previous experience in the race would suggest that he wants to prove that he can do it on the biggest stage.
| Rider | Fl | HI | ST | SP | AC | FT | | Dainese | 76 | 69 | 75 | 82 | 82 | 64 | | Cullaigh | 74 | 67 | 73 | 82 | 81 | 66 | | Farantakis | 74 | 66 | 75 | 82 | 80 | 61 | | Philipsen | 74 | 69 | 74 | 81 | 80 | 63 | | Kanter | 75 | 67 | 75 | 81 | 80 | 65 |  Halvorsen | 76 | 65 | 74 | 81 | 80 | 70 | | Groves | 75 | 72 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 64 |  Peak | 80 | 69 | 73 | 80 | 78 | 64 |  Hsu | 75 | 67 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 67 |  Aniolkowski | 76 | 66 | 76 | 80 | 79 | 57 |  Banaszek | 74 | 65 | 71 | 80 | 81 | 65 |  Nur Hasan | 74 | 64 | 74 | 80 | 78 | 73 | | Zijlaard | 76 | 71 | 72 | 79 | 79 | 61 |  Ovsyannikov | 74 | 69 | 75 | 79 | 78 | 71 | | Pedersen | 77 | 69 | 78 | 78 | 77 | 75 |  Vermeersch | 78 | 69 | 76 | 78 | 77 | 68 | | Scott | 72 | 66 | 72 | 78 | 78 | 60 | | Phonarjthan | 74 | 64 | 72 | 78 | 77 | 64 | | Ackermann | 72 | 77 | 75 | 77 | 80 | 66 | | Siric | 78 | 71 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 60 |
Moving onto the puncheurs the biggest favourite of them all should be last year’s winner  Vansevenant. 2024 champion  Pidcock also makes his return albeit calling him a puncheur is probably stretching the concept a little bit, but has anyone actually ever stopped to ask Pidcock what he defines himself as? Lopez is the highest rated based purely on his climbing ability but we have not seen his archetype of rider find a lot of success in San Remo in recent memory whereas someone like Mohoric,  Bagioli and Romo all have recent podium finishes here despite being seen as much more one dimensional than the Colombian, who might be in with his last shot at claiming San Remo as an addition to his palmares as age is gonna start catching up to him next year.
| Rider | Fl | HI | ST | SP | AC | FT | | Lopez | 70 | 84 | 76 | 66 | 78 | 80 | | Mohoric | 72 | 83 | 78 | 67 | 77 | 71 | | Vansevenant | 74 | 82 | 79 | 70 | 80 | 80 | | Bagioli | 71 | 81 | 77 | 71 | 78 | 77 | | Stannard | 73 | 81 | 75 | 69 | 78 | 77 |  Valter | 72 | 80 | 76 | 69 | 78 | 73 | | Gesbert | 71 | 80 | 80 | 68 | 73 | 76 | | Romo | 71 | 80 | 78 | 67 | 71 | 78 | | Trakhov | 68 | 79 | 78 | 69 | 75 | 70 |  Aleotti | 74 | 79 | 78 | 65 | 75 | 69 | | Evenepoel | 75 | 79 | 79 | 64 | 71 | 81 | | Skujins | 66 | 79 | 74 | 64 | 70 | 62 | | Sossa | 69 | 79 | 77 | 62 | 72 | 75 | | De Plus | 72 | 79 | 74 | 61 | 72 | 68 | | Nys | 71 | 78 | 75 | 70 | 76 | 71 | | Gaudu | 73 | 78 | 78 | 68 | 70 | 69 | | Buchmann | 68 | 78 | 68 | 62 | 68 | 64 | | Strakhov | 69 | 78 | 77 | 61 | 70 | 64 | | Ackermann | 72 | 77 | 75 | 77 | 80 | 66 | | Conca | 74 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 76 | 78 | | Pidcock | 78 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 81 | 74 |
Spoiler Rider
 Valter
Geniets
Nuha
De Lie
Gaze
Anderberg
Colombo
Eekhoff
Gesbert
Zegklis
Kvist
Van Aert
Dainese
Rickaert
Kiskonen
Blume Levy
Roman
Costiou
Kunkumpai
Wenzel
Gajdulewicz
Peak
Mihkels
Hellemose
Menten
Dalby
Pedersen
Finkst
Cannister
Andersen
Wright
Fedorov
Duric
Siric
Stojnic
Philipsen
Kajamini
Zana
Bonnamour
Thornley
Ballerini
Steimle
Cullaigh
Buratti
Nys
Januskevicius
Bauer
Kanter
Singh
Videika
Varga
Lauk
Gregoire
Gautherat
Verstrynge
Martinez
Brunel
Forbes
Baudin
Katrasnik
De Plus
Gaudu
Soulious
Cavagna
Koumpetsos
Boutopoulos
Kortsidakis
Farantakis
Lopez
Luchshenko
Calmejane
Budzinski
Gayral
Oliveira
Ansons
Vermeersch
Vansevenant
Buchmann
Denz
Hermans
Schelling
Havik
Aleotti
Malecki
Budenieks
Baroncini
Kubis
Vahtra
Horvat
Stokbro
Abrahamsen
Ssabagwanya
Pithie
Eulalio
Foss
Per
Bohli
Johansen
Kasperkiewicz
Groves
Zukowsky
Sam
Scott
Vandevelde
Trezise
Gilmore
Schiffer
Revelo
Sagiv
Bittner
Casillas
Fredheim
Nur Hasan
Kogut
Conca
Ganna
Matsuda
Salzmann
Hayter
Salazar
Hsu
Phonarjthan
Barrenetxea
Arvanitou
Feldmann
Bagnara
Fisher-Black
Van Uden
Milan
Quadrelli
Stannard
Fratczak
Fretin
Stewart
Moricz
Halvorsen
Rekita
Demiri
Bagioli
Rota
Chiu
Juntunen
Oldani
Sweeny
Christensen
Nych
Evenepoel
Sossa
Gerts
Frigo
Garofoli
Zijlaard
Aniolkowski
Marsman
Romo
Skujins
Ackermann
De Vos
Cemazar
Ramsay
Kloppenborg
Holm Jorgensen
Mohoric
Trakhov
Strakhov
Razumov
Senechal
Zakarin
Banaszek
Adria
Morgado
Hefnar
Pedersen
Ovsyannikov
Per
Van De Paar
Madan
Pidcock
O'Brien
Redy
Meiler
Bennett
Frankovic
Novardianto
Van Niekerk
Edited by Mresuperstar on 06-11-2026 15:11
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| quadsas |
Posted on 05-11-2026 18:59
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 2989
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Send Kanter and Nys to hedge my bets (or I simply had to send Nys for xp). Should be an easy victory whether it's a sprint or puncher finish
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| Sykkel_Freak |
Posted on 05-11-2026 19:00
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2243
Joined: 11-07-2010
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Thanks for the nice preview! We’be brought a strong team generally aimed at supporting Dainese, but with Gesbert as a good option should it end up being a battle between the puncheurs. Both should be a good fit for this course. Looking forward to the report!
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| SotD |
Posted on 05-11-2026 19:17
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World Champion
Posts: 13115
Joined: 29-11-2006
PCM$: 2980.00
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We seem to consistently fuck up when we are somewhat among the favorites, so I guess having zero expectations here is the only realistic perspective.
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 07-11-2026 15:56
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| kandesbunzler26 |
Posted on 05-11-2026 19:24
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Small Tour Specialist
Posts: 2604
Joined: 07-07-2013
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Thanks for the cool preview, wj!
It will be some interesting final kms (and a looong way until then), but we probably won't feature there prominently ... or will we?
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| knockout |
Posted on 05-11-2026 19:28
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8764
Joined: 21-12-2010
PCM$: 500.00
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Very curious how this will go. Multiple options for Evonik - hopefully we can play multiple cards in the final.
A Big Thank You To All MG Reporters! |
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| ember |
Posted on 05-11-2026 20:18
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Team Leader
Posts: 7451
Joined: 27-03-2008
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Well, then! Really, really hopeful for this one  Feels like De Lie, with his early outings this season, could be a perfect rider for a surprise top 10 if it comes down to a sprint depending on positioning and stamina.
If it gets to be a race for the puncheurs/late attackers, we've got Valter to cover, which shoul be a great fit. Definitely hoping for a top 10 here, where we also are in contention for the monument win. Excited! |
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| roturn |
Posted on 06-11-2026 07:58
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Team Manager
Posts: 22188
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It's the win goal for me and after the last editions, Vansevenant surely it's capable to do so. He will need his attacking spirit though. Can't wait for a big group to sprint it out.
All climbs need to be ridden as difficult as possible and the team should be capable doing so.
Looking forward to the report. |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 06-11-2026 12:51
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 7605
Joined: 20-03-2010
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A win goal, though more out of necessity than choice - not a realistic win goal by any means. Peak is here instead of Gaviria as we don't have a team capable of controlling the race, so it made more sense to let someone else do that and hope for a bit of luck. |
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 06-11-2026 13:58
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 17125
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Everything I've seen from this game and the last couple of years leads me to believe this is gonna be for the puncheurs. That would be pretty unfortunate for us since we don't have a single puncheur here, but that was by design. Aranburu isn't doing anything here anyway. I considered sending Gregaard, but ultimately decided not to confuse my team construction and just let the rouleurs have a shot. I doubt Pedersen has another 2022 in him, but if it does manage to stay together, he would be in a good position to soak up a minor placing with his stamina.
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 06-11-2026 18:56
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Team Leader
Posts: 5750
Joined: 12-06-2013
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LET'S GO 
What a thrilling last few kilometres and Kaden Groves timed his run to perfection to win it by less than a wheel!
History made for Australia and history made for Hunter Valley Cycling and myself as a manager as it's my/our first monument win 
In what's been a mixed start to the season, this is absolutely the highlight and hopefully it can put our season back on track!
Thank you for the report! Plenty of screenshots to use of my superstar 
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| Laurens147 |
Posted on 06-11-2026 18:58
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Sprinter
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Congrats LLS! Wonderful victory
MG - Lotto - Caloi
[MG] New Manager of the Year - PCM.daily Awards 2022
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| roturn |
Posted on 06-11-2026 19:10
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Team Manager
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Still early on but I already give up. No chance my team can survive the PT seeing those results. Can't even blame the team, they take did awesome and were flying all day. Though somehow all sprinters remained when they likely should have been dropped when all the puncheurs attack and pace each climb.
The Bax situation in the end surely didn't help neither but doubtful, Vansevenant and Bagioli had made it otherwise.
Sometimes it's a sprinters event, fair enough. Unfortunate for the team that it's close to no points then, which were needed, in especially missing a win goal this clearly.
Thanks for the report though. Great read and I was really thrilled until the end. |
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| quadsas |
Posted on 06-11-2026 20:01
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5th is a nice resultsz we sure take that when it could've been much worse
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| Mresuperstar |
Posted on 06-11-2026 20:04
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Grand Tour Champion
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Congrats LLS on your first monument! Fun report.
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| Fabianski |
Posted on 06-11-2026 20:32
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Nice to see Groves taking the win, congrats LLS 
Just wonder what happened to him last year where he was completely anonymous - as roturn said, probably just was a sprinters race this year. Guess it was the right decision by Groves to stay in PT for another year then 
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| SotD |
Posted on 06-11-2026 21:11
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World Champion
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Can’t complain with 6th, nor the impressive race by Boutopoulos, but We didn’t score enough points to cover the disaster in Malmø.
Overall a month pretty much on par with expectations, but we could have gotten so much more.
Big congrats on the win! Massive stuff!
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| ember |
Posted on 06-11-2026 22:19
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Team Leader
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Congratulations, LLS!
Super intense final kilometers, really messy and chaotic, just what you hope for as a neutral for Sanremo... A pity we didn't manage to play a role at all. Hoping we get to try again next season! |
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| Ulrich Ulriksen |
Posted on 06-11-2026 23:20
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Directeur Sportif
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Congrats to LLS on the first monument, nice to do it with an Australian.
Fun race and a great report from JT. The puncheurs couldn't quite break the tether this year.
Man Game: McCormick Pro Cycling |
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| Croatia14 |
Posted on 07-11-2026 00:26
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Directeur Sportif
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Best MG report I've read in years, awesome work!
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