SAN REMO, Italy – Germany’s Gerald Ciolek outwitted the pre-race favorites to win a snowbound Milan-San Remo Classic on Sunday.
The German former road race champion, 26, clinched his first major win for South African outfit MTN-Qhubeka in freezing weather.
In the rain and cold, Ciolek beat Slovakia’s Peter Sagan, the favorite at the outset, into second while Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara, the 2008 winner, had to be content with a podium finish for the third year in a row.
“I joined the team last year and people saw it as a bit of a surprise. And now I get the chance to score this first World Tour win for my team. It’s unbelievable,” said Ciolek.
Milan-San Remo has been dubbed the Primavera, or spring race, but it was definitely still winter in the North of Italy, as snow halted the bunch at mid-race and the course had to be cut by 50 kilometers.
The dreadful weather first forced the organisers to stop the race in Ovada after 118km and to miss the Turchino pass, which was covered in snow and impossible to ride.
As frozen riders returned to their buses to be taken to the next starting point, another of the course’s main ascents, the Manie climb, was also scrapped for security reasons.
At the time of the interruption, six riders, Dane Lars Bak, Russian Maxim Belkov, Spain’s Pablo Lastras along with Italians Filipo Fortin, Matteo Montaguti and Diego Rosa were in front, with a lead of more than seven minutes over the main bunch, a gap that was maintained at the restart.
Only 126km were left to be covered when racing resumed after a two-hour halt. – Reuters
