Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike) admitted that the revived Milan-San Remo Women was a tough one to predict as a front group of 12 riders barreled down the descent off the iconic Poggio and onto the streets of San Remo.
A late attack from Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) caused Vos and teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to hesitate and by the time they reacted it was too little too late as SD Worx-Protime made the catch and Lorena Wiebes launched her sprint to take the historic victory.
Italian champion Longo Borghini delivered her attack just after the hectic descent and it was SD Worx-Protime's Lotte Kopecky who initiated the chase, spending all her matches to make sure Wiebes was in prime position in the final straight.
"I looked back and saw Pauline was coming there, too, and I also knew that if I did it, then I would not have a sprint left. It was a little bit of a gamble but that's bike racing and that makes this final so interesting," Vos said.
Vos still managed to finish second place, while Ferrand-Prévot initially crossed the line in fourth but was later relegated to 12th for deviating from her line.
"It was hard to predict what the race was going to give. In the end, I'm very happy with how we raced as a team and how I got to the final. And then, in a sprint against Lorena Wiebes, you know it is going to be very hard but we tried. I think we can be satisfied with second," Vos said.
"Of course, you always try to go for the win and aim for the highest spot, but I know in a sprint against Lorena it is hard to beat her, but you always try. Today, I wasn't that far off, so I'm a bit disappointed but at the same time satisfied with how we raced. I did not make any mistakes so, yes, I can be happy."
The revived women's race at Milan-San Remo become the fourth of the five Monuments for the women's peloton – alongside the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Vos has raced all of them, winning Tour of Flanders in 2013.
The women raced 156km from Genoa to San Remo, including the iconic Cipressa and Poggio climbs. A group of 12 emerged over the top of the Poggio and down the descent. It included Vos, who said her priority was to remain in control through the tricky switchbacks.
In the end, she sprinted side-by-side on the left of Wiebes, but despite the explosive drag race to the line, she was not fast enough to outsprint her compatriot.
Asked if this year's race was an indication of what we could expect to see in future editions of Milan-San Remo Women, Vos said it was tough to say because there are so many factors at play including distance, weather and wind.
"I think, it's hard to tell. Maybe next year it will be totally different. I don't know if there are conclusions you can make for this edition, but you could feel the tension in the bunch was high. Everyone wanted to position well. The crashes might have had an influence and some riders were out of making a difference, early attack or high pace," Vos said.
"The winds played a big role; a tailwind doesn't help because it is a high pace and no one can get away, but a headwind doesn't help either when you want to make a difference, so in the end, Lorena was climbing well and it was hard to get away."
Still, she said she enjoyed the new race on the calendar, suggesting only one minor improvement to the distance, by adding 20km to 30km and increasing the total to closer to 180km.
"It was a beautiful race. I'm happy we did it today and hopefully, there are many more editions to come. It's great to have it on the calendar. It was a fantastic edition. We have so many beautiful races and this fits well into the calendar. For improvement, I don't know, we will just look forward to the next," Vos said.
"It is an option to make it longer. That is the specific issue with the men's race but I don't know if that would have made a difference in today's race, to be honest. In the end, the final is the same and the riders can handle the difference."
