Milan - San Remo Diary
Friday 21st - Saturday 22nd March, 2008
by Ed Hood

The 99th edition of Milano-San Remo is the first of the five "monuments" of the professional year, and it's true to say that the Italian race is one of the the highlights of every sprinter's season. The race is one of the legends in cycling, not really because of it's terrain, but rather for it's incredible history, and for the fact that it is the longest classic on the modern day calendar.

VeloResults are there! We've managed to grab a place in the Saunier Duval team car - the team of Riccardo Riccò, who made a tremendous attack on the Poggio climb last year with around 6km to go - so here's our Diary of the race - enjoy!

Milan Central Station saw Ed arrive - eventually!

Day 1 ; Day 2

Day 1 - Friday 21st March, 2008

I missed the plane yesterday, but like the kids say; "let's not go there!"
Today, I was embedded at Turnhouse, once bitten...

Usually, on Good Friday evening I'd be getting organised for Girvan, but the way it has all worked out this year it was The Clyde or The Ligurian.
If God spares me, I'll be down in Ayrshire on Monday though.

The flight arrived on time, but we stood - waiting on the customs boys turning up - for 20 minutes; "welcome to Italia!"

Castello Milano.

I'm on the airport bus just now, it's around 50 minutes from Malpensa Airport to Central Station, where I'll grab a cab to the Permanence to get my credentials for tomorrow. Usually you can do this in the morning, but with the Primavera roll out being at 09.15, there's not a lot of time.

I spoke to Slipstream DS Matt White in the week and he reckons that only three guys can win - Oscar Freire, Pippo Pozatto or Ale Petacchi.
Viktor and I have a notion of Thor Hushovd, but Matt reckons; "Maybe a podium."

Cancellara seems in such towering form that anything is possible, but again Matt disagrees: "He can't win, impossible!"

He has a point - there's around another kilometre been added from the bottom of the legendary Poggio to the new finish closer to the sea.

The view from the Poggio - it's a fair height.

This added distance gives the sprinter's "trains" more time to get the wagons coupled in the correct order and find launch velocity.

Milram, for Petacchi, QuickStep for Boonen (or maybe Steegmans), LPR for Pietropolli and Lampre for Napolitano (if he makes it over the Poggio) will all be there.

Alessandro Pettachi wasn't in great form last year - has anything changed this year?

Last year, the most disgusted man in San Remo must have been Erik Zabel, he lead "Ale Jet" out and still managed to finish ahead of him; nobody was going to beat Freire, but the German veteran must have been worth a podium place.

"I mean it Rolf, if that so-called Jet doesn't come past me this year...."

"Teenager" Paolo Salvoldeli has switched to Team LPR Brakes with Di Luca this year.

The Via Roma is unavailable due to Easter celebrations and roadworks.
I was surprised last year, when I walked the hallowed tarmac - it's by no means flat, it drags to the line, and it's much narrower than it looks on TV.

I won't get a chance to see the finish until it's all over tomorrow. The game paln is to hook up with my chums at Saunier Duval and hitch a ride all the way to San Remo - 298 kilometres looking at the back of Pietro Algeri's heid!

I'm looking forward to it, I've never been in a pro team car on a race before.
I've been in one at British races and at continental training camps, but never in a race - never mind the most glamorous classic of them all.

My taxi found the press room no problem, at around 8.00 pm, despite the website saying it was open until 9.00 pm, it was shut.

Never mind, sort it in the morning - another taxi to the digs. The hotel wasn't flash, but it was clean, however the room was five stories up, with no lift.

I soon found a good wee pizzeria place and as I was tucking in to my calzone when I received a text (SMS as the Euroguys say) telling me that there had been a mistake and my place in the team car was gone!

Sleep well, Ed.

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Day 2- Saturday 22nd March, 2008

A hard race ?

When the World and Olympic road race champion is blown out the back, his eyes wide, shoulders rocking, sweat dripping from him, stuggling up a climb on the inside ring, when only minutes ago he was blasting it on the 53 - that's a hard race.

Milan - San Remo has to be seen to be believed: seven hours, with all the major obstacles in the second half.

The new climb at La Manie is brutal and might just have contributed to the "pure" sprinters failure in San Remo.

However, if you read the signs with Cancellara in Tirreno, his win was no big surprise.

On the the crazy stage three climb, riders walked, but he forced that macho frame of his over the top with the lightweights.

Then in the time trial, as the other 'chrono men' heaved the big gears at low revs up the climbs, he 'spun' like that American boy - what was his name, good haircut but his racing clothes never fitted him properly?

Pietro: "If the boys don't behave, I eat their lunch!"

My full rantings from seven hours sitting beside Pietro Algeri are on Pez now. But I left you on Friday night with no seat in a team car, or way to get to San Remo - read on.

It was midnight when the calls and emails between Milan and Vancouver ended, we decided that I should make my own way to San Remo by train and cover the finish, live.

Taxi to the station, 07.00 am "There is a train to San Remo at 09.10 but it is fully booked!"

Another taxi, to the start, have a coffee, riders start arriving, the sun's oot anyway.

There's Mauro, the Saunier boss, let's see if I can at least scrounge a lift to the Med in the bus; "Ah, Ed! We thought you meant the Grand Prix Primavera in Spain in a few weeks' time, but I have made a space in the car for you."

I wanted to cuddle him!

Vladimir Karpets checks his bike over before the rollout. We reckoned at the Tour last year that these guys definitely had the coolest kit and bikes in the peloton.

I had a wander round, it's easy because the start is early and there aren't loads of fans about.

Erik Zabel was pretty wound up before the start.

Zabel and Petacchi looked tense, Gilbert relaxed and happy, Oscar as if he was going for the papers, Millar is fit, Magnus is heavy, Savoldelli still looks 14, Fabian Wegmann looks daft and most of the 'unknown' Italians look like male models, except the tiny ones of course - Viktor says the UCI should exclude anyone less that 5' 6" from holding a race licence.

Is Jacky Durand advising an in-form Philippe Gilbert to "go for a long one"?

Argylers Backstedt and Millar: Magnus was looking like the flatlander he really is, whilst Dave appeared to be fully recovered from his recent bout of illness.

The race came in 'spurts,' if you read my Pez piece, you'll see what I mean. There would be a purge, then an easing off, but if you were chasing you didn't benefit from the let-up because as soon as you were back, it was time for more pressure.

Francesco Tizza: it's over for him on La Manie.

Up close.

Danilo Di Luca was quiet in this race - we wonder how much more we'll see of him this year with CONI not giving up on their request for a 2 year ban...

Ever since the Saunier training camp at Estepona last year, I've been a Raivis Belohvociks fan, the big Latvian looks more like a boxer than a cyclist, tall, square shouldered and solid.

His face when we passed him on the Cipressa was a mask of pain.
Raivis made it a good Primavera for Saunier, they took a young team for experience and without much expectation and came back with a huge amount of exposure; thanks's to the Latvian's long shift off the front.

Eros Cappechi asks Pietro for the rugby scores - Ed once said this guy is "so good looking it makes you sick"!

Team LPR Brakes manager Eddy Seigneur is interviewed by Rai Uno TV at 40 mph!

Manuele Mori heading for 28th place.

Diving down off the Poggio!

Arriving into San Remo - beautiful.

Muchas gracias Andrea y Pietro. ¡Véale pronto!

At the finish I said my "cheerios" and "thanks" to Pietro, Andrea and Mauro, then it was time for the salle de presse. On a job like that I input it straight to the BlackBerry, meaning at the finish all you have to do is a tidy-up and send. However, despite having had an excellent GPRS signal (the one you need to support email on the BlackBerry) all day, there wasn't one in San Remo.

I had to transcribe the whole report into the laptop, if I was a fast typist, it wouldn't be so bad, but I'm not. I use the BlackBerry so much that I'm quicker with it than I am typing. I got it done, eventually.

Next it was time to edit and send my pictures; I got 15 away before it was chucking out time at the salle de presse. I'm going to see if I can get a wi-fi connection from Nice Airport, where I am now, and get the rest away.

When I woke up this morning, the BlackBerry was flashing red - 12 emails awaited me, San Remo's GPRS had made a miraculous recovery over night.

My flight to Dublin is at 10.10, then I change for Edinburgh - it was the only way I could get a reasonably priced flight home.

Still, "Girvan, the morn!" Talk to you from there.

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