Milan-San Remo is back and with the Spring Classicissima, the season of great cycling gets underway. The last one, that of last year, saw the high note of Vincenzo Nibali who flew up the Poggio to resist the chase of all the other big names in the descent. A difficult success to repeat but Nibali as a fighter born this Saturday morning will be at the starting line to defend - as the French say - "le sacre", the crown of the last king of the city of flowers.
As in 2018 also this year Nibali, among the absolute greats of stage races, is not among the favorites of the eve. He arrives at Sanremo after a rather anonymous run-in at the start of the season both at the UAE Tour and at the recent Tirreno-Adriatica won by Primoz Roglic. But he is a champion and as such capable of achieving a feat against all odds. Like another star player by name Alejandro Valverde at his seventh Sanremo, but at the first wearing the rainbow jersey of world champion. So far six races without ever shining with his best finish – 15th place – in the 2016 edition, won by the French Arnaud Demare. In betting Nibali is given over 50, Valverde more than 30.
For bookmakers, edition no. 10 of the first classical-monument of the year is a three-way challenge, all listed at six, between Julien Alaphilippe, Peter Sagan and Elia Viviani. If Sagan, still without victories in Sanremo after being duped twice by Gerald Ciolek in 2013 and by Mikal Kwitkowski in 2017, has been accustomed to the role of super favorite for years, Alaphilippe and Viviani, the two leader of the Deceuninck-Quick Step, an authentic battleship that has amassed victories at the beginning of 2019. Two nominations more than justified by what the French and the Italian have shown in the races held so far: the French, winner of the The last Strade Bianche on the Chianti dirt roads and great protagonist at the Tirreno-Adriatica with two stage victories, he could exploit his explosiveness on the Poggio by imitating last year's action by Nibali; the Italian, who has now entered the elite of the great world sprinters, is the winning card of the Belgian team in the event of a sprint finish.
Behind the trio of the first favorites there is a range of names of personalities who have already won in Sanremo such as Démare, Alexander Kristoff (2014) and John Degenkolb (2014) or who dream of hitting the mark sooner or later like Caleb Ewan, second last year, the Colombian Fernando Gaviria and Sam Bennett, all top quality sprinters who can have their say in a group sprint. Also dreaming of a sensational encore at the finish line in via Roma is the Polish Kwiatkowski, captain of Sky for the occasion, second in the last Paris-Nice won by teammate Egal Bernal. It would not be a surprise at all if the winners in Sanremo were two old foxes of the classics like the Belgians Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert or the unpredictable but always tough Tom Dumoulin, the rider who gave Holland the first Giro d'Italia.
