They try in nearly every race, but rarely do the fearless escapees in the breakaway stick their move all the way to the line, especially in big race like Milan-San Remo, where the top contenders and their teams make sure everything is welded back together by the time they reach the bottom of the 3.7km Poggio climb near the finish.
Every once in a while the breakaway makes it, however, and that's what happened at Milan-San Remo in 1996 when Max Sciandi (Motorola), Michele Coppolillo (Maglificio-Technogym), Alexander Gontchenkov (Roslotto-ZG Mobili) and Gabriele Colombo (Gewiss-Playbus) got off the front with 25km remaining.
The youngest rider of the quartet took the four-up sprint for the win in a thrilling finale, while one of his teammates led the bunch home 32 seconds late.
Watch highlights of the 1996 La Primavera above and try to guess the winner if you don't already know.
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