Arnaud Demare (FDJ) win's Milan-San Remo 2016

Arnaud Demare won a chaotic final sprint to win the 2016 Milan-San Remo ahead of Ben Swift and Jurgen Roelandts, the win by Arnaud Demare was the first French win since 1995 and came after a succession of crashes in the peloton in the final 30km and the final sprint.

The chances of world champion Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara were wrecked in the final sprint as they both had to avoid the falling Fernando Gaviria who after a moments inattention touched the wheel of the rider in front and crashed.

Heinrich Haussler was the highest placed Australian in 7th place.

Landslides and Crashes

The 2016 Milan-San Remo started under warm sun and it wasn’t long before eleven riders broke clear and established a gap out over ten minutes, Tinkoff and Orica-GreenEdge brought the gap down to five minutes by the top of the Passo del Turchino as up the road a landslide on the coast road meant the race would be diverted onto the motorway for 9km.

Milan-San Remo A landslide on course forced a diversion
A landslide on course forced a diversion – Photo Renaud Breban @RenaudB31

The race was almost back together before the Cipressa as a crash caught Arnaud Demare, Michael Matthews, Daniele Bennati, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas and others, Matthews was the last to get going as his bike was tangled with Bennati’s losing valuable time. Arnaud Demare and Kennaugh were able to get back on to the peloton before the Poggio, Matthew’s arrived back later but had used to much energy chasing back on.

Michal Kwiatkowski attacked and gained a lead of 6 seconds with 6km to go as Vincenzo Nibali chased with Cancellara on his wheel and then were caught by the large peloton. Edvald Boasson Hagen attacked with 2km to go but was caught with 1km to go and it looked like the race would end in a bunch finish with most of the pre-race favourites …. and then the crash.

Fernando Gaviria touches wheels and crashes as Peter Sagan has to take evasive action
Fernando Gaviria touches wheels and crashes as Peter Sagan has to take evasive action
Sagan and Cancellara avoided falling but it was the end of their race
Sagan and Cancellara avoided falling but it was the end of their race

Moments after the crash Roelandts opened his sprint but Arnaud Demare was too strong and came around for the win ahead of Ben Swift with Roelandts holding for third ahead of Nacer Bouhanni who had a chain slip during his sprint.

Arnaud Demare was the 2011 U23 world champion and has won the Vattenfall Cyclassics and Four Days of Dunkirk as well as the French championships in 2014. Today’s Milan-San Remo win is Demare’s first monument win.

Results 2016 Milan-San Remo

Place Rider (Country) Team Result
1 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 6:54:45
2 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky
3 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal
4 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
5 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
6 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
7 Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
8 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
9 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
10 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
11 Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
12 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team
13 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
14 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
15 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
16 Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
17 Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
18 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
19 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
20 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
21 Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
22 Andrea Fedi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
23 Paul Voss (Ger) Bora-Argon 18
24 Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
25 Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team
26 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
27 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
28 Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
29 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
30 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
31 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
32 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling +:08
33 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
34 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
35 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal
36 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
37 Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
38 Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits +:11
39 Vicente Reynes (Spa) IAM Cycling +:14
40 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky +:34
41 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale Pro Cycling +:36
42 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
43 Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
44 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
45 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
46 Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team
47 Leigh Howard (Aus) IAM Cycling
48 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
49 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team Sky
50 Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
51 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
52 Davide Vigano (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
53 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
54 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Katusha
55 Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
56 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff Team
57 Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky
58 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre – Merida
59 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
60 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky +:43
61 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team +:44
62 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 +:53
63 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ +1:12
64 Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin +1:26
65 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team +1:30
66 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team +1:38
67 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
68 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) FDJ
69 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
70 Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18
71 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
72 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
73 Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
74 Sven Erik Bystr¿m (Nor) Team Katusha
75 Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
76 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Team Katusha
77 Stephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension Data
78 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
79 Fernando Gaviria (Col) Etixx – Quick-Step +1:48
80 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx – Quick-Step
81 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro Team +1:53
82 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team
83 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
84 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky
85 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
86 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
87 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
88 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal +1:59
89 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team +2:43
90 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
91 Luke Rowe (GBr) Team Sky
92 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data
93 K_vin Reza (Fra) FDJ +2:58
94 David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk +3:17
95 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-GreenEdge +3:18
96 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team +3:26
97 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team
98 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling +3:29
99 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
100 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Tinkoff Team
101 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
102 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
103 Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF +3:31
104 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
105 Rudiger Selig (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 +4:13
106 Bartlomiej Matysiak (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice +4:25
107 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
108 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – Merida
109 Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
110 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data
111 Gregory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
112 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF
113 Winner Anacona (Col) Movistar Team +6:16
114 Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits +6:46
115 Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
116 Roger Kluge (Ger) IAM Cycling +7:01
117 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
118 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff Team
119 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek-Segafredo +9:25
120 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre – Merida
121 Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale
122 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge +10:16
123 Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx – Quick-Step
124 Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
125 Victor de la Parte (Spa) CCC Sprandi Polkowice +10:48
126 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto Soudal +11:37
127 Marco Haller (Aut) Team Katusha
128 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Argon 18 +12:53
129 Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Argon 18
130 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
131 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
132 Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
133 Jesse Sergent (NZl) AG2R La Mondiale
134 Francisco Ventoso (Spa) Movistar Team
135 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
136 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
137 Julen Amezqueta (Spa) Southeast – Venezuela
138 Gregor Muhlberger (Aut) Bora-Argon 18
139 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data
140 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team
141 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
142 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx – Quick-Step
143 Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Movistar Team
144 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff Team
145 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
146 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
147 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre – Merida
148 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
149 Mirko Tedeschi (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
150 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale +14:25
151 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
152 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
153 Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
154 Christopher Williams (Aus) Team Novo Nordisk
155 Serghei Tvetcov (Rom) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
156 Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale
157 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Orica-GreenEdge
158 Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
159 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge
160 Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk
161 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling
162 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo +14:28
163 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ
164 Thomas Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
165 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ
166 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
167 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge
168 Adam Blythe (GBr) Tinkoff Team
169 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
170 Adrian Honkisz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
171 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-GreenEdge
172 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale Pro Cycling
173 Adrian Kurek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice +17:59
174 Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data +19:07
175 Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
176 Nikolay Mihaylov (Bul) CCC Sprandi Polkowice
177 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
178 Samuele Conti (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela +21:17
179 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Southeast – Venezuela
180 Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +22:25
DNF Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team
DNF Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-GreenEdge
DNF Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
DNF Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team Katusha
DNF Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – Merida
DNF Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
DNF Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data
DNF Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff Team
DNF Giorgio Cecchinel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec
DNF Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
DNF Jerome Cousin (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
DNF Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data

Race report by TBL – The Bike Lane

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