Woah Pippo Pozzato is right. Did anyone put him down for their pick? Sometimes these things don't at all turn out the way we thought would. It certainly confirms the overall quality of QS as a team. 2 QS guys and 1 former QS guy in the top four.

Provisional
1 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick.Step
2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Milram
3 Luca Paolini (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
4 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick.Step

that was an amazing finish! So exciting!!! :)

Filippo Pozzato (Quick-Step) won the 2006 Milano-Sanremo with attention to detail. He precisely marked Alessandro Ballan (Lampre-Fondital) when the Italian jumped on the Poggio, did just enough to make the escape survive, and then went clear with 300 meters remaining on the Via Roma. "Finalmente" said the rider from Veneto, only 24 years-old and a huge victory in front of Petacchi, Paolini and teammate Boonen.

Lifted from BiciRace: http://www.bicirace.com/race/2006/MilanoSanremoReport.html

Even when you're the fastest sprinter it's hard to beat Ergopower.

Even when you're the fastest sprinter it's hard to beat Ergopower.


Could you elaborate?

Astarloa of old showed his card too. He was on, too bad the race didn't end at the top of the climb.

Pozzato was superb - and QS tactics were impeccable as ever.

Boonen would have taken third but he was busy throwing his arms in the air and grinning at his teammate's success - the spirit in that team is brilliant, they don't seem to care who wins so long as it's a QS. Such strength in depth.

Seems like Petacchi would have taken a straight sprint out, however - and the Milram train was nowhere in sight...

It's amazing that Pozzato won, but i was happy for Schleck, it said he went solo on the last climb. I"m thinking it's only a matter of time before he'll win one of these classics.

It's nice to see a new generation start to come into it's own. Guys like Schleck, Valverde, Ballan and Cunego were in the mix toward the end. This was the first time Cunego did this race. ...and then there was Pozzato. When they add the Pompeiana in 2008 this race is going to change and it'll be interesting to see which of those in this new generation can make it their race.

For now QS is in a league of it's own in the classics by far.

Great ride by Quick Step today, and from Pozzato. He's still pretty young as well, could have some good years ahead of him in the near future.

Astarloa of old showed his card too. He was on, too bad the race didn't end at the top of the climb.


Maybe when they add the Pompeiana.

On cyclingnews he was quoted as saying he couldn't shift into his 11 and it's the third time it's happened this year. Hmm, I think I'd have a talk with the mechanics. 3rd time? Actually my pic won!! He's Italian, rides for QT, he makes a great decoy that no one would really watch. He is definately an up and comer.

What's up with Lotto this year? No word from them all season. Could QT sweep the classics this year?

I am absolutely happy for him. This kid has a lot of potential. It has taken a bit longer to achieve what I thought he would achieve, but apparently the wait is worth it. It was a spectacular finish.

Pretty cool to see Cipo show up, too.

Woah.

It was great to see how happy Boonen looked for Pozzato, throwing his arms up, giving him an enormous on-the-bike hug. Great to see that kind of camaraderie...

So, for the Americans who didn't 'see' the race until today, any extra thoughts?

I thought it was pretty poor organization on the part of Milram. Looked like they used the whole effort getting to the break, then with 800 meters to go, had no one besides Petacchi. Rabobank took over, but couldn't go the distance either. It's a hard race, so that's the way it works sometimes, but it was sad to see Petacchi let down by his team.

Also, Frank Schleck almost took a couple of falls on the Poggio climb. Reminds you how fast these guys go uphill when they can barely make a hairpin turn.

Silas

I want to apologies for spoiling it for those who were planning on watching the replay of the race at a later time on TV. I completely forgot that this race could be on TV at a later time.
I'm personally am not a big fan of OLN's condensed coverage here in the States and so I rarely watch it. That being the case, delayed TV coverage of the race was completely out of mind and I didn't think of noting the tread in the subject line as "warning MSR results/discuss", "MSR spoiler" or whatever. I'm sorry and I won't make that mistake again.:o

If I recall correctly there's no spoiler rule in this forum. The moderator staff recommends not to read this forum if you don't want to risk finding out results prematurely.

I want to apologies for spoiling it for those who were planning on watching the replay of the race at a later time on TV. I completely forgot that this race could be on TV at a later time.
I'm personally am not a big fan of OLN's condensed coverage here in the States and so I rarely watch it. That being the case, delayed TV coverage of the race was completely out of mind and I didn't think of noting the tread in the subject line as "warning MSR results/discuss", "MSR spoiler" or whatever. I'm sorry and I won't make that mistake again.:o

I think it's accepted here in Pro Cycling, but on other forums, spoilers are not allowed. No big deal. How would most of us here in the US make it through the entire week without knowing who won the race anyway? Unless we don't visit cycling websites, and therefore, this one would be ruled out right?

I just didn't get the Poggio tactics. Nobody seemed to care about the breakaway too much. I mean, Milram didn't get aggressive until late. Once the left hand turn hits at the summit, it's a different race. I just don't get why nobody got real antsy about half way up the climb to bring the break down. Great win, great finish. I thought Pettachi was going to catch !

Here's my MSR thoughts:

1. I agree with Rocco, last night's condensed OLN coverage was very frustrating to watch. Paul and Bobke were great, but over a one and a half hour period, there was probably 30 minutes or so of actual race coverage. :mad: The continuity kept breaking with pointless inserts about the contenders, countless commercials, etc. It was difficult to see the race progress tactically over the Cipressa because of the editing; fortunately by the Poggio they started to stick with the RAI coverage. It's also nice to see that Chris Carmichael isn't getting free plugs for CTS anymore.

2. IMO Pozzato doesn't win MSR if not for Alessandro Ballan's powering attack up the Poggio, which to Pozzato's credit he immediately jumped on Ballan's wheel, stayed there, and (correctly) didn't work in the Ballan-Sanchez-Astaloa-Schleck lead group. If you taped the race, watch the part on the Poggio where Ballan attacks and Pozzato jumps on his wheel in no time and stays on it.

3.Ballan is a guy who keeps getting better and better and will be a major name in the next couple of years.

4. Quickstep -- bellisimo! They had Bettini driving a murderous pace up the Cipressa and up toward the Poggio, making it impossible for Milram to set up and tiring them out in the process. Pozzato was always near the front so he countered the Ballan move perfectly, forcing Milram to work at the front to the top of the Poggio and ensuring that Quickstep had a rider toward the breakout group if Boonen needed the help. Then Boonen was always one of the top five guys at the peloton conserving all his energy to pounce on Petacchi if it came to a sprint finish (almost did).

5. Quickstep should have won the best team category for ProTour points purposes. Interestingly, Discovery Channel took that honor.

If I recall correctly there's no spoiler rule in this forum. The moderator staff recommends not to read this forum if you don't want to risk finding out results prematurely.

You don't have to go to this forum even. I got zapped by this dumb spoiler on Sat because I clicked the forums link to get to the Lounge and because good ol' Rocco put Whoa! Dude! Pippo! in the heading it showed up right at the top because latest posts are always shown. So there went an hour and a half of prime race viewing on Sunday. Would have been a great race but Rocco had to ruin it for any and all. I'm still irritated.

I just didn't get the Poggio tactics. Nobody seemed...

With Pozatto up the road the responsibility fell squarely on the Milram team and I don't think they had the firepower to do anything about it. Petacchi said he was missing to guys who suppose to look after things on the Poggio.

It also looked like they (and/or Rabobank) screwed up as they caught the disintegrating break and didn't keep driving it which let Pozzato keep is gap.

I'm personally am not a big fan of OLN's condensed coverage here in the States and so I rarely watch it.

I thought OLN did a pretty good job with their editing this time. They pretty much showed the final 40k in it's entirety. They didn't cut parts out too much (if at all) so that you couldn't figure out who was where and what was going on, they showed the descents...

Of course it lacked some build-up since they put in the PN and TA highlights and had alot of commercials.

Also they really need a play-by-play guy with good knowledge of riders and their accomplishments. Liggett, Roll, and Sherwin are all more color guys.

it seems like a missed opportunity for Zabel. much like at the world championships, petacchi's superstar "gravity" weighed his team down into not being able to place riders in winning opportunities, al la Bettini at the world's. much credit goes to all the early attackers, who decisively disrupted the Milram plan. i can't falt them for keeping Zabel in to work for Ale-Jet. it was, in fact, very close to a winning startegy. but clearly the early attacks took their toll on the train and QS tactics were played to perfection. i also agree with those who commented on how QS seems to be genuinely overjoyed regardless of who it is who snags a win. great shots of Bettini and Pozzato after the race.

Also they really need a play-by-play guy with good knowledge of riders and their accomplishments. Liggett, Roll, and Sherwin are all more color guys.

I thought Paul Sherwen was excellent. Paul always gets the riders names right (unlike Phil :rolleyes: ) and he's quick to point out little practical things. As a viewer ,Paul and Bob are credible to hear because each has actually ridden MSR and know what a dramatic and tense race it is. Both of them know when the Cipressa and Poggio climbs begin, and both predicted the left and right hand turns that immediately preceed the Via Roma. Remember, these guys aren't in San Remo -- they're just watching the RAI satellite feed which OLN purchased rights to and do their voice-overs from the studio. I don't think a non-veteran rider would have added any additional value.

[QUOTE=fornaca68]I thought Paul Sherwen was excellent. Paul always gets the riders names right (unlike Phil :rolleyes: ) and he's quick to point out little practical things.
/QUOTE]

I guess I'm looking for something a little more high-paced. I think a good play-by-play guy with Sherwin would be the way to go.

[QUOTE=fornaca68]Here's my MSR thoughts:

"1. I agree with Rocco, last night's condensed OLN coverage was very frustrating to watch. Paul and Bobke were great, but over a one and a half hour period, there was probably 30 minutes or so of actual race coverage. :mad:"

For OLN I thought this was remarkably complete coverage! I kept waiting for them to skip chunks but I think they pretty much showed all of the final 40km. It was just so broken up by commercials, highlights, stories, etc.


"2. IMO Pozzato doesn't win MSR if not for Alessandro Ballan's powering attack up the Poggio, which to Pozzato's credit he immediately jumped on Ballan's wheel"

I believe I read that he trains with Ballan and was expecting his attack on the Poggio. It was probably in Pozzato's plans to cover it so he could escape his responsibilities with Boonen and have a shot to win on his own.

I thought OLN did a pretty good job with their editing this time. They pretty much showed the final 40k in it's entirety. They didn't cut parts out too much (if at all) so that you couldn't figure out who was where and what was going on, they showed the descents...

Of course it lacked some build-up since they put in the PN and TA highlights and had alot of commercials.

Also they really need a play-by-play guy with good knowledge of riders and their accomplishments. Liggett, Roll, and Sherwin are all more color guys.

I agree, OLN did a nice job on this race. It helps that MSR really only has an hour of action, and that the various breaks position on the road don't get very confusing. PR for instance has 2+ hours of action, with much more confusion, dirty uniforms preventing rider IDing, and other issues. Unless they extend coverage to 2 hours, they won't do an adequate job covering that race, LBL, or Flanders.

I too would like a more play by play oriented guy. 3 men in the booth would be good as well, as two guys isn't enough in the slow, early portions of the race.

Silas

Unless they extend coverage to 2 hours, they won't do an adequate job covering that race, LBL, or Flanders.
Silas

Remember when OLN actually showed PR live for a year or two? That was the good ol' days!

So, for the Americans who didn't 'see' the race until today, any extra thoughts?

I thought it was pretty poor organization on the part of Milram. Looked like they used the whole effort getting to the break, then with 800 meters to go, had no one besides Petacchi. Rabobank took over, but couldn't go the distance either. It's a hard race, so that's the way it works sometimes, but it was sad to see Petacchi let down by his team.

Also, Frank Schleck almost took a couple of falls on the Poggio climb. Reminds you how fast these guys go uphill when they can barely make a hairpin turn.

Silas

QS simply had more weapons and it gave them the tactical advantage. Pozzato did zero work after bridging over and gave a monster attack in the final K. However, he wasn't gifted the win by Milram but rather he had the talent and intelligence to take advantage of his position in the breakaway. I agree Milram seemed less than dominant in the closing kms (those are tough closing kms to control!) but their guy still came in ahead of the peloton. Petacchi beat Boonen et. al.

So well done QS and well done Pozzato

What's up with Lotto this year? No word from them all season. Could QT sweep the classics this year?

It's not unthinkable. Between Boonen, Pozzato, Bettini, and Nuyens, there are more unthinkable predictions that could be made.

QS simply had more weapons and it gave them the tactical advantage. Pozzato did zero work after bridging over and gave a monster attack in the final K. However, he wasn't gifted the win by Milram but rather he had the talent and intelligence to take advantage of his position in the breakaway. I agree Milram seemed less than dominant in the closing kms (those are tough closing kms to control!) but their guy still came in ahead of the peloton. Petacchi beat Boonen et. al.

So well done QS and well done Pozzato

While they had more weapons, MSR is not usually a very tactical race. If Petacchi had the same squad as last year, I think he wins. This year he does not have Kirchen, Baldato, Ongarato, Tossato and it showed. Den Bakker and Zabel are solid, but the rest of his team burned themselves out completely before the Cipressa. Not a matter of tactics really, but a lack of domestiques to pull him to the line.

Also, there was a bigger tailwind this year. Undoubtedly helped the early break, wasting more of the sprinters team's energy.

I don't think this is a great strategic victory for QS. They won by a bike length. In 5 years it won't matter, but since we just watched the race, I think we can agree that it was not a decisive victory.

Silas

I enjoyed seeing this result:

7 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas

It's pretty cool to see a grand tour winner with a sprint!

I enjoyed seeing this result:

7 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas

It's pretty cool to see a grand tour winner with a sprint!


For some reason, I like Garzelli too. Garzelli was a playmaker on the final climb. Very nice.

I like the description used by Bobke, 'called-blooded move'. Pipo just sat back in the break looking disinterested. With a couple hundred meters to go, he glances back and then WHAM! Game over.

francois

While they had more weapons, MSR is not usually a very tactical race. If Petacchi had the same squad as last year, I think he wins. This year he does not have Kirchen, Baldato, Ongarato, Tossato and it showed. Den Bakker and Zabel are solid, but the rest of his team burned themselves out completely before the Cipressa. Not a matter of tactics really, but a lack of domestiques to pull him to the line.

Also, there was a bigger tailwind this year. Undoubtedly helped the early break, wasting more of the sprinters team's energy.

I don't think this is a great strategic victory for QS. They won by a bike length. In 5 years it won't matter, but since we just watched the race, I think we can agree that it was not a decisive victory.

Silas

What your saying strikes me as true in the sense that it does seem to usually come down to a sprint indicating that strong teams almost always control the race. But if i didn't know the history, this is the first time I actually watched it MSR, those twists and turns and narrow streets strike me as a crazy situation for team to control.

I think QS had plenty of danger men and that by sending a frisky looking Bettini up as a feint on the Cipressa caused Milram to burn some matches and when Pozzato latched on on the Poggio a few more. I kind of got the sense that when these Milram guys got to the end they were getting exhasperated and I attributed it to them being shaken by QS' tactics. It's one thing alone to throw guys like Bettini and Pozzato on attacks against a strong team like Milram but it's quite another to do it when you have a truly scary guy like Boonen hovering around your star sprinter.

You don't have to go to this forum even. I got zapped by this dumb spoiler on Sat because I clicked the forums link to get to the Lounge and because good ol' Rocco put Whoa! Dude! Pippo! in the heading it showed up right at the top because latest posts are always shown. So there went an hour and a half of prime race viewing on Sunday. Would have been a great race but Rocco had to ruin it for any and all. I'm still irritated.

Maybe on the "Forums" page, where the latest post is always highlighted, that feature could be removed from under the "Pro Cycling" forum link? That way, there aren't forum-specific spoilers posted on a main page? I avoided this site for a whole day and a half to catch the OLN coverage: lots of commercials and hard to tell who was in the break, but overall some good coverage. I wish we had switchbacks like that here in Oregon....

Maybe on the "Forums" page, where the latest post is always highlighted, that feature could be removed from under the "Pro Cycling" forum link?


Not possible with this forum software.

I would suggest not saying outright winners of big races in titles of posts.

francois

I thought OLN did a pretty good job with their editing this time. They pretty much showed the final 40k in it's entirety. They didn't cut parts out too much (if at all) so that you couldn't figure out who was where and what was going on, they showed the descents...

Of course it lacked some build-up since they put in the PN and TA highlights and had alot of commercials.

Also they really need a play-by-play guy with good knowledge of riders and their accomplishments. Liggett, Roll, and Sherwin are all more color guys.


It sounds like I should give OLN another try.

but he did get the cricket role and bravo to him for pulling it off. Bravo to Boonen for being happy for him (and sitting on Petacchi) Bravo to Bettini for being hurt and turning himself into super soldier. Bravo to Trenti for being in the attack group. Quick Step played this one perfectly. Boonen stayed near the front so he wouldn't get caught out and they made sure they had a rider in every break forcing every other team to chase (killed Milram IMHO)
and made sure the tempo stayed hard on the final 2 climbs. I dunno about the rest of you, but I think Quickstep (who kinda got the shaft with last years Pro Tour rankings) has a chip on its shoulder and they are gonna prove that they are the best team (non GT) in cycling.

but he did get the cricket role and bravo to him for pulling it off. Bravo to Boonen for being happy for him (and sitting on Petacchi) Bravo to Bettini for being hurt and turning himself into super soldier. Bravo to Trenti for being in the attack group. Quick Step played this one perfectly. Boonen stayed near the front so he wouldn't get caught out and they made sure they had a rider in every break forcing every other team to chase (killed Milram IMHO)
and made sure the tempo stayed hard on the final 2 climbs. I dunno about the rest of you, but I think Quickstep (who kinda got the shaft with last years Pro Tour rankings) has a chip on its shoulder and they are gonna prove that they are the best team (non GT) in cycling.


bottom line: QS is the sh!t.

FYI, there is amazing video here from OLN's coverage. If you missed it, check the finish here:

http://www.olntv.com/nw/article/view/12165/?UserDef=true&catID=76

francois

FYI, there is amazing video here from OLN's coverage. If you missed it, check the finish here:

http://www.olntv.com/nw/article/view/12165/?UserDef=true&catID=76

francois


Cool! Thank you... Pozzato was totally on the ball tactically and the execution was lethal. I wonder if Boonen knowing that Pozzato was up the road hesitated/juked the sprinters who were waiting for/watching him for a split second which helped Pozzato stay away. ...but then again, Pozzato had perfectly time and awsome jump.

Great, MSR video at work...productivity loss... ;)

Cool! Thank you... Pozzato was totally on the ball tactically and the execution was lethal. I wonder if Boonen knowing that Pozzato was up the road hesitated/juked the sprinters who were waiting for/watching him for a split second which helped Pozzato stay away. ...but then again, Pozzato had perfectly time and awsome jump.

marking Petacchi in case the catch was made. I'm sure he did nothing to help a bridge.
awesome. did you give your bike a kiss for congrats?

marking Petacchi in case the catch was made. I'm sure he did nothing to help a bridge.
awesome. did you give your bike a kiss for congrats?


LOL... Naw... it's just a bike. I'm not that sentimental and QS had nothing really to do with my selecting that bike.