Milano-Torino 2017 Preview

By David Hunter

Milano – Torino 186km

A little beauty of a race.

Not a race you really want to watch, for the opening 160km, but the final 20km is brilliant! The race is all about two climbs to Superga.

First time of asking, the riders don’t do the final kilometre, but descend down the hill and head back around for another ascent. It reminds of Cumbre Del Sol.

The climb is outrageously difficult, 4.9km at 9.1%. With very few “easy” sections, it is a true test of climbing ability. Either you have it, or you don’t! It’s all about legs on the day.

Weather

Beautiful sunshine.

Domestiques Let Loose

This is race where we see some of the loyal servants allowed to chase personal glory. In the last three years we have seen the title being won by Lopez, Rosa and G Caruso. After a season of bursting their guts for others, it’s the perfect chance to reward loyal riders, especially with Lombardia just two days away.

Contenders

Jack Haig – the Aussie has enjoyed a superb season, taking giant steps forward in the progression of his career. He followed up a stage win in the Tour of Poland, with a solid performance in the Vuelta. He arrives as the Orica leader and should go very well.

Hugh Carthy – it’s been a mixed bag for Carthy in his first season with Cannondale. He showed good early season form, but hasn’t been in the mix for a while. Recently, he’s been working very hard for his teammates and should be rewarded with freedom in this race. The gradient of this climb is great news for him, but he cannot afford to be poorly positioned at the start of the climbs. A fan of riding at the back of the bunch, he needs to be near the front when the attacks start.

Sam Oomen – the 22 year old has enjoyed a very strong season. A solid performance in the Dauphine was followed by 7th in Poland. His Vuelta campaign was going brilliantly, until sickness forced him to abandon on stage 14. He returned to form in Tre Valli and will provide Sunweb with a strong option in this race.

Pierre Latour – another youngster that has enjoyed a fine season, but Tre Valli was his first race since the Tour de France. It will be hard for him to compete against others with more racing in their legs.

Egan Bernal – an amazing season for the Colombian. His Sky contract has been signed for a while, I’m still not sure if I agree with his choice of team. He was in a good position in Giro dell’Emilia, but crashed behind Chaves. He didn’t seem to be badly injured, which means he should still be able to challenge in this race. It will be good to see him match up against some of the best climbers in the world.

David Gaudu – the Frenchman is younger than Bernal, despite already riding in the world tour for a season. It’s been an impressive season for Gaudu, he already seems to have grown in stature. This is a perfect race for him and he’ll be eager to show his bosses what he can potentially do in 2018.

Giovanni Visconti – amazing current form, he seems to be riding better than ever before. He won Emilia and impressed in a domestique role in Tre Valli. He is the leader for Bahrain and should be in the mix for the win. The gradient might be a little on the steep side, but he cannot be written off in his current form.

Sergio Henao – he should be the captain for Team Sky. The Colombian won Paris-Nice earlier in the season, but was a big disappointment in the Tour de France. He seems to have been building up some form in recent races and he is one of the best as the hill approaches 10%. Sky have multiple options, expect one of them to be fighting for the win.

The Big Guns

Will any of the contenders for Il Lombardia go full gas so close to the monument? We shall have to see, but if they really want to, the race is there for them. It will be interesting to see what we get from Aru, Fuglsang, Uran, Pinot, Quintana, Dan Martin, Kruijswijk, Kwiatkowski, Dumoulin and Mollema. That is a serious amount of talent!

Prediction Time

I really hope we see a battle between the youngsters. Given recent form, I will go with Egan Bernal. He was robbed of the chance of fighting for the win in San Luca, but this looks like a great day for him.

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