Is there anything Julian Alaphilippe can’t do? Uphill finishes, time trials, bunch sprints — it all seems to be the same for the Frenchman. And after a great start to the year, Alaphilippe took another leap forward this past Saturday, adding Milan-San Remo to what is already a very impressive palmares.
Alaphilippe did it perfectly. He saved his energy until it mattered, he proved one of the strongest over the Poggio, he marked the right moves on the run-in to San Remo, and he handily won the sprint. It was a great win from a great bike racer.
Below is a collection of great photos from some great photographers. As ever, Kristof Ramon and Jered & Ashley Gruber have done a terrific job to capture not just the action, but the little moments that you just don’t see while watching the race on TV. Enjoy!
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- A nearly 300km race needs carbs. Lots of carbs.
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- That’s a shiny helmet you’ve got there, Micky Schar.
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- 2017 winner Michal Kwiatkowski was a late inclusion to the Sky line-up.
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- That’s a gnarly roll-out.
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- Niccolo Bonifazio would get his time in the sun roughly 6.5 hours later …
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- European champ Matteo Trentin was one of the pre-race favourites.
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- Adam Hansen spent a bunch of time on the front of the bunch, controlling the pace for teammate (and compatriot) Caleb Ewan.
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- World champion Alejandro Valverde has some nice rainbow flashes on his bike.
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- Speaking of colour schemes that represent past success, Greg Van Avermaet has been rocking gold ever since he won the road race at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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- A breakaway of 10 (including four from Novo Nordisk) built a lead of 10 minutes.
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- The Passo del Turchino, the highest point of the race from which the riders descended to the Mediterranean coast.
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- An iconic location to shoot Milan-San Remo from.
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- Oh look, it’s Adam Hansen on the front, again. His sprinter Ewan was dropped on the frenetic dash up the Poggio.
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- Flare smoke on the Capo Berta wouldn’t have helped make the effort any easier.
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- A fun and colourful Milan-San Remo tradition, or just a little bit stupid?
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- Nice one guys.
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- Niccolo Bonifazio had viewers around the world on edge with his daring solo descent of the Cipressa.
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- “Kwiato” was in the lead group coming off the Poggio descent.
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- So too Oliver Naesen, Valverde, Wout Van Aert and Alaphilippe.
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- Tom Dumoulin was just behind, and eventually made contact with the lead group just before the final sprint.
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- Alaphilippe took out the sprint ahead of Naesen and Kwiatkowski.
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