Gerald Ciolek plays perfect tactical game to win Milan-San Remo

Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara flank winner Gerald Ciolek on the podium, Milan-San Remo 2013

Gerald Ciolek, racing for an unknown second division team, MTN-Qhubeka, played his cards perfectly to win Milan-San Remo today. The German waited to pounce while the attention was on Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard) and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).

"It was maybe even harder for Sagan, he was the big, big favourite and had the responsibility on his shoulders," Ciolek said in a press conference. "I also took some advantage of his situation, but in the end, it was just having the fastest legs and I was able to beat him."

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.