March 17, 2012 – Australian National Road Champion Simon Gerrans gave Australia back-to-back wins at Milano-Sanremo. Gerrans outsprinted Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan-Trek) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) to take top honors at the first monument of the season. The elite trio formed on the ascent of the Poggio and maintained a narrow lead over a chasing field at the finish. Gerrans is the second Australian to win La Primavera, following in the footsteps of 2011 Milano-Sanremo Champion Matt Goss.
The first 200 kilometres of the 298-kilometre race played out according to script with an early break escaping from the bunch and building up a maximum advantage of 13 minutes before the field began to give chase.
“It’s always a bit of a gamble to allow the break such a big gap,” said Sports Director Matt White. “I’ve done this a long time, so I was confident in my direction and judgment. There was a lot of wind on the coast, and I took the option to lay low, stay cool and conserve for the key moments of the race. The strategy worked out well for us.”
By the race’s mid-point, the gap between the break and the field began to slowly but steadily fall. The pre-race favorites all remained comfortably in the bunch as the field hit La Manie, the second climb on the menu.
The climb caused the first split in the field. The increase in pace that followed further shed riders from the main bunch. The peloton reabsorbed the break and sped on towards San Remo.
“We rode as a team all day,” explained White. “The guys were always looking after each other and making sure to keep Goss in position at all the key moments. When we hit the Cipressa, we had four riders left in the front group.”
Several riders launched small digs on the Cipressa. The field easily responded to each move. The descent of the Cipressa passed without incident, and a 50-strong front group hit the Poggio.
Near the summit of the final climb, Nibali attacked. Gerrans jumped on his wheel and Cancellara quickly bridged across. The trio immediately established a ten-second advantage.
“Simon had free rein to cover the big moves, and he certainly did today,” said White. “We had two leaders in the race. If it went hard on the Cipresso or Poggio, Simon was our man. If it came back together for a sprint, we’d look to Gossy.”
“I knew when the move went on the Poggio with Fabian, that this was time to go,” added Gerrans. “It turned out to be the crucial move of the race.”
“I let Sebastian and Gossy know that Simon had gotten over the top with Fabian and Nibali,” White continued. “That’s all I said. At this stage in the race, it’s better to say nothing. The guys don’t want to hear anything over the radio. They need full concentration for the descent.”
The trio managed to evade the chasing field on the descent and hold them off on the run-in towards the finish. With 12 seconds on his pursuers, Cancellara led out the sprint as Gerrans came around him for the victory.
“Fabian is always keen to ride hard to get the win or a podium” explained White. “Simon played it cool. For Fabian, it was pull hard to get a chance to win or sit back in the bunch. Simon knew this was Fabian’s attitude, and he capitalized on it. He has a fast sprint, and he was able to get over the top of Fabian today.
“Simon’s a class act,” added White. “This is the biggest win of his career.”
Post-race, Gerrans noted the historical significance of the race for GreenEDGE.
“It’s amazing for GreenEDGE to win the first real Classic we’ve done as a team,” added Gerrans. “To finish up the great work the guys did today is an honor. A big thanks to everyone on this team – the staff, the riders and the people who created this team. Thank you to Gerry Ryan and Shayne Bannan.”
Results
1. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team 6:59:24
2. Fabian Cancellara (Sui) Radioshack-Nissan
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 00:02
5. John Degenkolb (Ger) Project 1T4I
6. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
7. Oscar Freire Gomez (Esp) Katusha Team
8. Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
9. Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan
11. Xavier Florencio Cabre (Esp) Katusha Team
12. Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 00:12
13. Simon Geschke (Ger) Project 1T4I
14. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
15. Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team 00:20
16. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
17. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Astana Pro Team
18. Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Esp) Movistar Team
19. Koen De Kort (Ned) Project 1T4I
20. Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
21. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team
22. Tom Boonen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
23. Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
24. Sacha Modolo (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
25. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
26. Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
27. Anthony Geslin (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
28. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Esp) Movistar Team
29. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
30. Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Sky Procycling
31. Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
32. Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
33. George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
34. Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
35. Francesco Reda (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
36. Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Esp) Movistar Team
37. Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
38. Angel Vicioso Arcos (Esp) Katusha Team
39. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
40. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Greenedge Cycling Team
41. Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
42. Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
43. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-ISD
44. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox 00:31
45. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 01:05
46. Patxi Javier Vila Errandonea (Esp) Utensilnord Named 01:24
47. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
48. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 01:35
49. Francesco Failli (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
50. Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
51. Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team
52. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 01:48
53. Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat
54. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Radioshack-Nissan
55. José Herrada Lopez (Esp) Movistar Team
56. Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
57. Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team
58. Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre-ISD
59. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-ISD
60. Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
61. Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
62. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
63. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
64. Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
65. Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank
66. Elia Favilli (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
67. Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
68. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Garmin-Barracuda
69. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 02:20
70. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 02:41
71. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
72. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo Bank
73. Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 02:44
74. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank 03:23
75. Kiel Reijnen (USA) Team Type 1-Sanofi 03:27
76. Rémi Cusin (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi 03:39
77. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 04:09
78. Grégory Rast (Sui) Radioshack-Nissan 04:44
79. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Radioshack-Nissan
80. Steve Chainel (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
81. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin-Barracuda 05:37
82. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 07:37
83. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 07:43
84. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
85. Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
86. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
87. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
88. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 09:28
89. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
90. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team
91. Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
92. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
93. Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
94. Baden Cooke (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team
95. Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
96. Paolo Bailetti (Ita) Utensilnord Named
97. Juan Pablo Suarez Suarez (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
98. Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank
99. Andreas Klier (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda
100. Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 14:39
101. Frederico Rocchetti (Ita) Utensilnord Named 15:54
102. Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia 17:04
103. Vicente Reynes Mimo (Esp) Lotto Belisol Team 20:18
104. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team
105. Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Barracuda
106. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
107. Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Garmin-Barracuda
108. Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
109. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Barracuda
110. Robert Wagner (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan
111. Hayden Roulston (Nzl) Radioshack-Nissan
112. David Millar (Gbr) Garmin-Barracuda
113. Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
114. Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Garmin-Barracuda
115. Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team
116. Markel Irizar Aranburu (Esp) Radioshack-Nissan
117. Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
118. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team
119. Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
120. Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
121. Jeffry Johan Romero Corredor (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
122. Oleg Berdos (Mda) Utensilnord Named
123. Juan Pablo Forero Carreno (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
124. Filippo Baggio (Ita) Utensilnord Named
125. Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
126. Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
127. Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
128. Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
129. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
130. Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
131. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha Team
132. Pablo Urtasun Perez (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
133. Mikel Landa Meana (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
134. Ruben Perez Moreno (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
135. Jure Kocjan (Slo) Team Type 1-Sanofi
136. Julien El Fares (Fra) Team Type 1-Sanofi
137. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Type 1-Sanofi
138. Tom Veelers (Ned) Project 1T4I
139. Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Project 1T4I
140. Cheng Ji (Chn) Project 1T4I
141. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team
142. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
143. Diego Caccia (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
144. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
145. Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 23:02
146. Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
147. Marco Coledan (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
148. Gianluca Maggiore (Ita) Utensilnord Named
149. Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-ISD
DNF Stuart O’grady (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team
DNF Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Greenedge Cycling Team
DNF Svein Tuft (Can) Greenedge Cycling Team
DNF Matthew Wilson (Aus) Greenedge Cycling Team
DNF Claudio Corioni (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Paolo Ciavatta (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Francesco Ginanni (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Fabio Taborre (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Franck Osorio (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
DNF Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
DNF Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
DNF Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia-Coldeportes
DNF Marco Canola (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
DNF Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
DNF Paolo Locatelli (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
DNF Angelo Pagani (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
DNF Filippo Savini (Ita) Colnago-Csf Inox
DNF Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Amets Txurruka (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat
DNF Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team
DNF Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha Team
DNF Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD
DNF Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre-ISD
DNF Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-ISD
DNF Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre-ISD
DNF Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
DNF Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
DNF Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
DNF Roy Curvers (Ned) Project 1T4I
DNF Roger Kluge (Ger) Project 1T4I
DNF Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNF Maarten Wynants (Bel) Rabobank Cycling Team
DNF Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Sky Procycling
DNF Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling
DNF Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Procycling
DNF Jeremy Hunt (Gbr) Sky Procycling
DNF Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling
DNF Ian Stannard (Gbr) Sky Procycling
DNF Jonas Aaen Jörgensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
DNF David Tanner (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
DNF Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) Utensilnord Named
DNF Matteo Fedi (Ita) Utensilnord Named
DNF Daniele Colli (Ita) Team Type 1-Sanofi
DNF Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team Type 1-Sanofi
DNF Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Type 1-Sanofi