Team of the week: Michal Kwiatkowski, Peter Sagan, Tom Dumoulin, Coryn Rivera and more
Our pick of the week's riders shaped by strong performances in Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico and Trofeo Alfredo Binda
Leader: Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky)
At Milan-San Remo, Sky’s Polish wonder-kid Michal Kwiatkowski once more proved he has the brains as well as the legs to win the very top races on the cycling calendar.
The Pole is making something of a career out of surprising better fancied riders in the finales of big races - in both his Worlds road race win in 2014 and at Strade Bianche earlier this month, he caught the rest of the favourites off guard with late solo attacks that were not brought back.
>>> Brilliant Michal Kwiatkowski edges out Peter Sagan to win Milan-San Remo 2017
He’s also becoming something of a nemesis to Peter Sagan, having previously outwitted him by making early sprints to beat him at last year’s E3 Harelbeke and the 2014 Strade Bianche, and this week coming from behind him to snatch Milan-San Remo victory at the very last moment.
Road Captain: Elia Viviani (Team Sky)
Sky’s victory at Milan-San Remo was as much a team effort as it was Kwiatkowski’s individual brilliance, and would not have been possible without Elia Viviani.
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The Italian had been given the jersey ending in ‘1’ that denotes team leader, which meant that, once he’d hauled himself over the Poggio towards the front of the peloton, Kwiatkowski had the excuse to follow Sagan’s wheel without taking putting his nose to the wind - which in turn helped save him enough energy to beat him in the sprint.
Puncheur: Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)
Kwiatkowski may go down as the winner, but the most memorable ride at Milan-San Remo was surely Peter Sagan’s.
The power he produced on the Poggio was a sight to behold, and the way he motored all the way to the finish without relying on either Kwiatkowski or Alaphilippe was full of panache - even if it did arguably cost him the race.
On this kind of form he’s a marvel to watch, and another big win to make up for his near miss here is surely imminent.
>>> Analysis: Peter Sagan provides the thrills despite coming up short at Milan-San Remo
Sprinter: Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb)
The Trofeo Alfredo Binda is usually one of the more selective of the spring classics on the women’s calendar, but this year’s edition came down to a sprint involving over 20 riders, won by young American talent Rivera.
>>> Team Sunweb strike first WorldTour win at Trofeo Binda as Brits miss out
Time-triallist: Rohan Dennis (BMC)
Despite losing significant time a few days before on the race’s key mountain stage, Rohan Dennis catapulted himself up to second overall at the Tirreno Adriatico with a dominant, victorious performance on the final 10km time-trial stage.
Domestique: Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb)
Before Sagan’s attack on the Poggio, a superb turn from Tom Dumoulin - who sacrificed his own chances by riding for the team’s sprinter Michael Matthews - kept the race under remarkable control on what is usually its most chaotic moments.
Domestique: William Bonnet (FDJ)
Milan-San Remo is a huge race in terms of length as well as prestige, so chapeau for FDJ’s William Bonnet for leading the peloton alone for much of the race’s first half. In an act of admirable self-sacrifice, his role was to use up all his resources riding at the front for hours, before promptly abandoning.
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