G'Day for Gerrans in San Remo

Simon Gerrans became the second Australian in a row to win Milan-San Remo, the first of cycling's five Monuments.

The GreenEDGE rider was following in the footsteps of his current team-mate Matthew Goss who triumphed 12 months earlier when riding for HTC-Highroad.

The pivotal moment in the 298 kilometres race, the longest one-day event on the professional cycling calendar, came on the final climb of the Poggio with less than 10km remaining.

It was at that point that Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Gerrans broke clear of the pack and they were soon joined by Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan).

With that trio among the best descenders in the world, they soon opened up a lead of 12 seconds and as Cancellara drove it on the front they were always just holding off the chasing pack.

Gerrans was in the perfect position knowing that Goss was in the main group behind and having sat on Cancellara's wheel he pounced in the final 200 metres to claim a narrow victory over the Swiss star, with Nibali having to settle for third.

It was Gerrans' first triumph in one of cycling's Monuments and continued his magnificent start to the season following his overall success in the Tour Down Under, placing him back on top of the WorldTour rankings.

Contrasting fortunes

There was disappointment though for Gerrans' former squad Team Sky who had hoped to win with pre-race favourite Mark Cavendish but the world champion was distanced from the front group on the Le Mànie climb with just under 100km remaining.

A herculean effort from the likes of Mathew Hayman, Salvatore Puccio, Ian Stannard, Jeremy Hunt and Bernhard Eisel looked for a moment as if it would help him bridge the gap back to the main group.

But the second chase group was unable to get any closer than 40 seconds and with around 50km to go they accepted that it wasn't going to be their day.

That left around 70 riders left to battle for the victory in 'la classica di Primavera' and it was Liquigas-Cannondale who appeared to be in pole position with Nibali and Peter Sagan both right in the mix.

They had been prominent on the front for much of the day and hoovered up the

remnants of a nine-man breakaway which had moved clear just 21km into the race and had opened up a maximum lead of 14 minutes.

Moving to the penultimate climb of the Cipressa with 28km to go, various riders tried their luck but the complexion changed once again cresting the top with a crash which involved Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) and ruled him out of contention.

At the base of the Poggio it was Rabobank setting the pace on the front but the final twist was to come soon after as Gerrans went clear with Nibali and Cancellara in what proved the race-winning move.

Cavendish Eyes Milan - San Remo

Team Sky's Mark Cavendish is delighted with his preparation ahead of Milan-San Remo as he attempts to win the race for a second time.

In 2009 Cavendish famously claimed a thrilling last-gasp win in cycling's first Monument of the season when a blistering sprint saw him edge ahead of Heinrich Haussler.

That was the 100th edition of professional cycling's longest one-day race and ever since then the Briton has made no secret of his desire to win the 298 kilometres contest again, but this time in the world champion's jersey.

This is his first chance to do just that, having surged to victory in the World Championships in Copenhagen last September and he said: "To start any race in the rainbow jersey is very special and this is a special race in its own right so if you combine the two it's clear how much it means to me."

The 26-year-old has had a superb build-up to 'La Primavera', with four wins already this season including two in Qatar, Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne and, last week, a stage victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.

That latest victory in Italy underlined Cavendish's form, his sprint success coming at the end of more than six-and-a-half hours in the saddle which should serve as the ideal preparation for what faces him on Saturday.

He confirmed: "This year I’m in great form, the team’s going really well and in good spirits and I think we are strong enough to deal with everything that’s thrown at us."

Cavendish is also unfazed at being favourite for the race, adding: "With myself there for the sprint and Edvald [Boasson Hagen] there for the attacks we’ve got that covered too. I think we can be very confident.

"But what makes San Remo special is that a lot of the people who start have got a chance of winning; there are so many different variables in the race so we’ll see what happens."

Cavendish has just kept things ticking over in the last few days, explaining: "Tirreno was a tough race for everyone - and everybody finished tired - but I've got good form and really good sensations in the legs. It's just been a case of resting up and letting that form come out again on Saturday."

But he's also made time to recce the pivotal last third of Saturday's race, explaining: "I did the last 100k as there are three very technical descents – and the climbs of course."

And that meticulous preparation has dovetailed to great effect with what he calls the perfect environment at Team Sky, adding: "It’s so structured here; everything is set to a regime. And I love that and thrive on it. It’s not just about producing the performances on the day, they really care about making us better."