9 conclusions from Milan-San Remo

Julian Alaphilippe won the 110th Milan-San Remo on Saturday. It was his seventh win of 2019. Peter Sagan made mistakes in the Via Roma sprint. The list of conclusions from the race includes 9 conclusions. The final few kilometres of a major race are the most intense and adrenaline-filled. Matteo Trentin and Wout van Aert lost their chances of winning. They were caught in an attack and chase with two kilometres to go. Alphilippi followed Matej Mohoric in left and right turns in final kilometre.

Milan-San Remo is the first Monument Classic of the season. It marks the start of a spring Classics campaign that runs deep into April. Julian Alaphilippe has created a new March specialisation within the spring classics. He will focus on Strade Bianche and Milan- San Remos in March. He is without a doubt the rider of this month and the most successful rider in the WorldTour.

Peter Sagan is frustrated after finishing second in Milan-San Remo for the second consecutive year. He has finished in the top five four times and second twice. He is still looking for his first La Classicissima. In 2017, Michal Kwiatkowski outmanoeuvred him. This time, he was alone up front and he messed up by being too cautious and focused on his rivals.

Matthews finished twelfth in Milan-San Remo. He missed the first selection on the Poggio but finished only eight seconds down on a group that fought. If he can find consistency and cut out the needless crashes out of his repertoire, he could be the spark that ignites Team Sunweb's slow start to the season.

Novo Nordisk won Milan-San Remo. The team has only won one race in the last three years. Novo Nordisks is about more than just winning. They have over half their roster in a breakaway. All seven of their riders finished the race.

Katusha-Alpecin missed out on Milan-San Remo. The team's recruitment has been poor. They have tried to internationalise the team without thinking about success. Enrico Battaglin won a stage at the Giro d'Italia in a contract year but faded back into anonymity.

Trek-Segafredo's main Milan-San Remo threat John Degenkolb will ride a 1x crankset on Saturday. Degenerkola had a mechanical on the descent of the Poggio.

Matej Mohoric and Wout van Aert finished inside the top 15 in Milan-San Remo. Mohric should have been more calculating and Van Aerst should not have started the sprint from such a long way. The two riders have the pedigree but experience counts for so much in races of this magnitude.

Deceuninck-QuickStep has won 19 one-day WorldTour events this season. Last year they won 73 races. They lost Niki Terpstra and Fernando Gaviria during winter. Alaphilippe has more wins than Team Sky. He's won more races than Katusha-Alpecin, Trek-Segafredo, Bahrain-Merida, Team Sunweb, and AG2R La Mondiale put together. He is now at the top of the UCI rankings. Some people question the team's success. The team is built on one day success and they forgo Grand Tour and stage racing budgets.