This is how close Peter Sagan was to beating Michal Kwiatkowski at Milan-San Remo

The pre-race favourite this morning, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe could not have hoped for a better scenario on the run-in to the finish of Milan-San Remo, with just two riders - Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) - for company.

Unfortunately for the Slovakian he found himself on the front of the group, and was eventually edged out in the sprint in a very close photo finish.

The finish was one of the closest in a number of years, with Sagan possibly even closer to victory than Erik Zabel was in 2004 when he was edged out by Oscar Freire after prematurely raising his arms in celebration.

>>> Brilliant Michal Kwiatkowski edges out Peter Sagan to win Milan-San Remo 2017

There were also question marks about whether Sagan dropped his chain in the final few metres of the race, with photos taken shortly after he crossed the line showing his chain half off the chainring.

However Sagan made no mention of the possible mechanical after the race, thanking his team and congratulating Kwiatkowski, who he has raced against since they were juniors, on his win.