The first monument of the year proved to be a nail-biting race with a thrilling finale. The riders rolled out of Milan this morning with 293 kilometres still to go. Shortly after the official start was given eight riders attacked and got up the road. The escapees managed to get a maximum advantage over the peloton of seven minutes, with the last of them reeled back in again at the foot of the Poggio.

With the Turchino behind them, the riders hit the coast, heading towards the Capi climbs. The pace in the peloton was gruellingly fast and the Capi were quickly behind them. With the Cipressa insight, the peloton upped the pace once more, with the team doing a brilliant job to bring Søren Kragh Andersen in a good position at the bottom of the climb. The tempo on the climb was gruelling and the peloton exploded, leaving a small group, to crest the top, including Kragh Andersen.

Attacks happened immediately when the thinned down group started the Poggio, with Pogacar and Van Aert trying to get away. With the summit in reach, Kragh Andersen put the hammer down, went all in and attacked. He got up the road with three others and went again, going all-in towards the top. The rest of the group covered the move though and in the descent, Mohoric got away.

After his gutsy attack on the Poggio, Kragh Andersen managed to stay with the small chasing group and sprinted to a very strong and well deserved 7th place for the team, after great teamwork and an all-out attack.

Speaking after the finish, Kragh Andersen said: “To be honest I am very happy, I went for the win and I showed I was up there with the best. It is cycling and it is difficult to win, but I am happy with my performance and that of the team. Positioning into the Cipressa was the most important thing today the team showed great commitment in getting me there. It was a bit surprising for me that a team could put the pace this high on the Cipressa and could make a selection in this way. For me, that was ideal as the positioning into the Poggio was easier now.“

Team DSM coach matt Winston said: ”We wanted to bring Søren to the Cipressa and Poggio as fresh as possible. We really looked after him all day and held him in a good position. When the peloton went full gas on the Cipressa it was perfect for us with just 25 guys left in the front. On the Poggio when Søren made a big attack, there were only three guys that could follow; three of the best guys in the world. It came back together and I was proud of the commitment all the guys showed to bring him in that position, it was a team effort. Also, a fantastic effort to keep going all the way to the line and I think we can be really happy with that seventh place!”