March 23, 2019 (Italy) – The best rider and the best team celebrated on the Italian Riviera on Saturday afternoon, when after nearly seven long hours and a nerve-wracking finale, Julian Alaphilippe punched the air in celebration as he captured a memorable win at Milano-Sanremo and continued his period of unprecedented success, which sees him sit on seven victories amassed since the end of January, having taken a win at every single race he had started this season.

“It’s very difficult to realise what I achieved today together with this amazing team! There was pressure on me, but I knew the form was there and together with my Wolfpack teammates I did a perfect race. Tim pulled the entire day and then, on the Poggio, we tried to make the race very hard with Philippe and Styby, and afterwards I attacked as late as possible to forge a selection. On the downhill I tried to recover and remain focused, then in the last two kilometers I said that I want to win, and after closing the gap to Trentin, I continued to remain attentive, so when Mohoric went with 600 meters to go I said to myself it’s now or never. It’s unbelievable, a huge moment in my career”, an emotional Julian Alaphilippe said to the melee of journalists at the finish.

At 291 kilometers, the 110th Milano-Sanremo was again the longest one-day race of the calendar, starting early in the morning, when the bunch leaves behind foggy Milan and heads to the sunny and vibrant Sanremo, as the race slowly unfolds for six hours, covering the Turchino and Tre Capi, before building up like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller for the final 30 minutes, which take the riders over the Cipressa and Poggio.

Tim Declercq confirmed his “El Tractor” monicker, taking the reins at the front of the peloton as soon as a ten-man breakaway formed and setting a steady tempo – which resulted in the escapees being brought back on the Cipressa – for more than 250 kilometers. The headwind on this penultimate ascent meant no attacks could be launched, the only move before the Poggio coming on the descent, where Niccolo Bonifazio (Direct Energie) opened a gap that eventually melted under the formidable impetus of Deceuninck – Quick-Step.

Belgian Champion Yves Lampaert then took over and led into the 3.7km-long hill, before Philippe Gilbert and Zdenek Stybar set a brutal pace that inflicted pain and suffering, stretching the field and dropping the sprinters. Once the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad champion peeled off the front, Alaphilippe attacked, tearing the bunch apart and creating the decisive split, eliminating the threat of a mass gallop in the process.

Eleven riders rushed towards the finishing straight with a clear gap over the remnants of the peloton, nullifying a late acceleration of Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) ahead of the flamme rouge. The first to show his intentions was Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida), who turned on the gas on the left side of the road. Sensing the opportunity, Julian jumped onto his wheel and opened his sprint with over 200 meters to go, holding off the charge of Oliver Naesen (AG2R) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and outclassing all his opponents as he dashed to the most important victory of his career.

“I am so, so proud of my team! Tim controlled the escapees since the start of the day, while Yves, Styby and Philippe protected and brought me into position on the Poggio. Before the race I asked them to make sure I was in the top three or top five maximum at the foot of the climb and they took care of it”, said the fourth reigning Tour de France KOM champion to triumph at the prestigious “La Primavera” when asked about the incredible amount of work laid down by his Deceuninck – Quick-Step, who left an indelible mark over the first Monument of the season.

Results

1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 6:40:14
2. Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
5. Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
6. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
7. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar Team
8. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
9. Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
10. Matteo Trentin (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
11. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:00:03
12. Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:08
13. Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:24
14. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:27
15. Magnus Cort (Den) Astana
16. Fernando Gaviria (Col) UAE Team Emirates
17. Marco Haller (Aut) Katusha-Alpecin
18. Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
19. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Astana Pro Team
20. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Dimension Data
21. Amund Grondahl Jansen (Nor) Team Jumbo-Visma
22. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy
23. Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
24. Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
25. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
26. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
27. Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
28. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
29. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal
30. Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
31. Simone Velasco (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
32. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
33. Matteo Montaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
34. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
35. Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
36. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education First
37. Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Katusha-Alpecin
38. Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie
39. Jos van Emden (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
40. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Dimension Data
41. Anthony Turgis (Fra) Direct Energie
42. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) CCC Team
43. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
44. Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education First
45. Tao Geoghegan Hart (Gbr) Team Sky
46. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb
47. Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
48. Marc Hirschi (Sui) Team Sunweb
49. Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Dimension Data
50. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
51. Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) Dimension Data
52. Soren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb
53. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
54. Sven Erik Bystrom (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
55. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:35
56. Niki Terpstra (Ned) Direct Energie
57. Stephen Cummings (Gbr) Dimension Data
58. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) CCC Team 0:01:01
59. Stefan Kung (Sui) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:15
60. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
61. Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
62. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
63. Carlos Barbero (Esp) Movistar Team
64. Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
65. Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:27
66. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
67. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
68. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
69. Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy 0:01:29
70. Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R La Mondiale
71. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Israel Cycling Academy
72. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
73. Marco Marcato (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
74. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
75. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
76. Jose Goncalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
77. Umberto Marengo (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
78. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
79. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:33
80. Matteo Busato (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:01:36
81. Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First 0:01:54
82. Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:06
83. Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:13
84. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:37
85. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:02:39
86. Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team 0:02:54
87. Taco van der Hoorn (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
88. Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
89. Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
90. Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF
91. Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team 0:03:11
92. Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
93. Luis Mas Bonet (Esp) Movistar Team
94. Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
95. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
96. Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
97. Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
98. Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
99. Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) CCC Team
100. Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
101. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
102. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Deceuninck-QuickStep
103. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
104. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
105. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) EF Education First
106. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) Bahrain-Merida 0:03:39
107. Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:03:51
108. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:04:46
109. Reto Hollenstein (Sui) Katusha-Alpecin 0:05:22
110. Koen de Kort (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 0:05:26
111. Michael Schar (Sui) CCC Team
112. Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky
113. Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott 0:05:27
114. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Sky 0:06:31
115. Owain Doull (Gbr) Team Sky
116. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
117. Roger Kluge (Ger) Lotto Soudal
118. Julius van den Berg (Ned) EF Education First
119. Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott
120. Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
121. Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
122. Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Groupama-FDJ
123. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
124. Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) CCC Team
125. Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
126. Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
127. Luca Pacioni (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
128. Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data
129. Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
130. Jerome Cousin (Fra) Direct Energie
131. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Direct Energie
132. Mads Schmidt Wurtz (Den) Katusha-Alpecin 0:07:45
133. Matthias Brandle (Aut) Israel Cycling Academy
134. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:10:18
135. Conor Dunne (Irl) Israel Cycling Academy
136. Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
137. Sebastian Schonberger (Aut) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
138. David Lozano Riba (Esp) Team Novo Nordisk
139. Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
140. Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
141. P }ter Kusztor (Hun) Team Novo Nordisk
142. Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
143. Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
144. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team
145. Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky
146. Markel Irizar (Esp) Trek-Segafredo
147. Mikel Landa (Esp) Movistar Team
148. Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
149. Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Movistar Team
150. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates 0:13:56
151. Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
152. Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:14:42
153. Bert Van Lerberghe (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
154. Oliviero Troia (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
155. Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
156. Paul Ourselin (Fra) Direct Energie
157. Sam Brand (Gbr) Team Novo Nordisk
158. Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
159. Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
160. Daniel McLay (Gbr) EF Education First
161. Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
162. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
163. Luca Raggio (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
164. Edoardo Affini (Ita) Mitchelton-Scott
165. Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 0:19:25
166. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:20:53
167. Alessandro Pessot (Ita) Bardiani CSF
168. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
DNF Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) CCC Team
DNF Liam Bertazzo (Ita) Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia-KTM
DNF Casper Pedersen (Den) Team Sunweb