Having placed in the top ten in four of the last five editions of Milano-Sanremo, Peter Sagan was looking to become the first man to win the race in the rainbow stripes in more than 30 years.
Making an audacious attack on the Poggio, the Bora-hansgrohe rider made the 108th edition of La Classicissima one to remember, just beaten to the win on the line by Michal Kwiatkowski after an audacious attack on the upper slopes of the Poggio.
“I gave my all today. My team did a great job getting me to the Poggio safely”, said the world champion. “Luckily we didn’t crash – that was really important, as it was very close at the finish line after I finished my sprint.”
“I think it’s important for the fans to have a spectacle – everyone’s happy. It was instinct to attack on the Poggio – I tried and after I attacked I saw I was alone, and then Kwiatkowski and Alaphilippe came with me. We descended to the finale and made it something really special.”
“I hadn’t planned anything because racing depends on the legs you have. I didn’t think to go so well. I thought other riders would attack, I don’t know why they didn’t. Perhaps they didn’t have the legs….”, Sagan explained his attack.
“I tried it this year because there was a tailwind on the Poggio. I had nothing to lose, I tried. I got away and then Kwiat and Alaphilippe came across.”
“We’ve only really started today with Milan-San Remo. Now I’ve got to recover. At the weekend we’ve got Harelbeke and then Gent-Wevelgem, then Flanders and Roubaix.”
