First up is La Classica di Primavera (Milan - San Remo) in Italy. The longest at nearly 300km, racing from the industrial north down to the coast of the Italian Riviera. This is the first of the five "Monuments" and really opens the Spring Classic season. Followed by Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris Roubaix and Liege Bastogne Liege, with the final Monument, Giro di Lombardia, in Autumn.
Favourites for the win this year must be; Mark Cavendish with a strong Sky team, Fabian Cancellara who's already ridden away for a win at Strade Bianche, Tom Boonen who has had a return to form in the early season, last years winner Matt Goss, 3 time champion Oscar Freire, and with outside chances of Alessandro Petacchi and Andre Greipel. If it doesn't come down to the usual sprint after the Poggio then the Italians have the advantage with Nibali, Scarponi and Garzelli with Peter Sagon being my favourite outsider.
Here's the finale from 1992, when "King Kelly" manages to keep in the chase group going over the Poggio and then moves to the front to drop like a stone down the decent after Moreno Argentin...
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