It finished with a suitably monumental effort after another crazy descent off the Poggio and with that Jasper Stuyven surprised himself as much as anyone to win Milan-San Remo with just enough time to raise both arms aloft. At that deciding point Sam Bennett wasn’t among them, the Irish rider still with the front group on the first approach to the Poggio, though separated by around 10 seconds at the top. Bennett, looking to become only the second Irish winner 29 years after Sean Kelly’s last of two wins, finished in the third main group of riders, in 42nd position, 29 seconds down on Stuyven. Nicolas Roche also rode strongly early on for Team DSM and finished 115th in the group 7:14 down. There was a lot of fast guys in the group after the Poggio, so I knew I had to try all or nothing.

Source: The Irish Times March 20, 2021 16:41 UTC