There’s a short, steep little climb just outside Enniskerry that has the nickname in Dublin cycling circles of the Poggio. On its own, it isn’t much of an obstacle, but after a long day in the saddle in the Wicklow mountains it can test the legs. Nevertheless, on most spins everyone does make a bit of an effort to power over it. Why? It’s called the Poggio because, like in Milan – San Remo, it’s the last climb before the fast run all the way back into Dublin.

Milan – San Remo is the first of the big spring classics and takes place today. It’s generally dubbed a sprinter’s race and, more often than not, a sprinter does end up victorious. Having said that, it isn’t a case of waiting for the gallop to the line. It’s a very difficult race to win.

First of all, at just two kilometre’s shy of 300, it is the longest of the classics. Combine that with the fact that it is so early in the season and it means that it often isn’t the fastest sprinter in the bunch who wins, but the one who can arrive in San Remo the freshest. Secondly, the race features a series of climbs before the finish, the last of which is the famous Poggio. Any sprinter who wants to be in contention for a bunch sprint needs to have the legs to get to get over these climbs without being dropped by their more versatile rivals.

These obstacles mean that there is always a chance for the more traditional classics rider to get the win. Ideally they need to get away either on or before the Poggio and probably stand their best chance if a small break can be established. Keeping a gap is a difficult task, since the powerful sprinters’ teams will all work together to real them back in.

More so than any other classic, the list of favourites for this one is quite long. Aside from all the top sprinters, there’s a good few classics riders who could mount a successful attack. In addition to this, it is still so early in the season that it’s quite hard to judge who the form riders are. Here’s a selection of some of the people who could be in contention tomorrow:

Mark Cavendish

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He is, without doubt, the premier sprinter in the peloton at the moment. Cavendish has it all, an explosive jump, tremendous top line speed and an exceptionally strong team to back him. His ideal stomping ground is flat Grand Tour stages since his main weakness is his climbing, or lack thereof. Nevertheless, Cavendish has won Milan – San Remo before, two years ago, when he got over the climbs intact and unleashed a fearsome sprint to catch at surging Heinrich Haussler before the line. Cavendish has been quite this year so far, only winning once. Yet he was relatively low key two years ago also. Write him off at your peril.

Oscar Freire:

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For a rider who’s so accomplished, Oscar Freire flies much lower on the radar than many of his contemporaries. He’s a triple world champion and has won Milan – San Remo three times and is the defending champion. I suspect that his low-key reputation is just the way he likes it, letting his rivals soak up the hype while he nips in for the win. Nothing epitomises this more than his first win in San Remo in 2004. Eric Zabel thought he’d landed his fifth win and raised his arms just before the finish. Freire, making a late dash, just pipped him on the line. A strong sprinter who is well able to climb, Freire has tactical nous in abundance, all of which will serve him well.

Heinrich Haussler

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The Australian-born German is still only 27 and has the ability to become one of the major classics riders over the next few years. He had a brilliant season in 2009, coming close to victory in Milan – San Remo and getting second in the Tour of Flanders and seventh in Paris – Roubaix. His season was blighted by injury last year but Haussler appears to be on the comeback trail in 2011, winning the points jersey in Paris – Nice. The main difficulty Haussler may encounter is his team. Garmin – Cervelo has three potential winners in its line up, with World Champion Thor Hushovd and American sprinter Tyler Farrar also starting. Haussler is probably the more versatile of the three, but if it comes to a sprint, the team may favour Farrar as the fastest finisher, being led out by Hushovd. Garmin’s embarrassment of riches will keep the other teams guessing, but Haussler could find himself frustrated if a team mate is in a favourable position.

Thor Hushovd

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The Norwegian is a powerful sprinter but probably not as fast a finisher as either of his two team mates who also have favourite tags. Yet, as he proved in the World Championships, Hushovd has the stamina to last a long race, survive late attacks and win the gallop in a much reduced bunch. Sounds like Milan – San Remo, doesn’t it? He combined well with Farrar at recent Tirreno – Adriatico, leading him out for the sprints. Whether that happens again today is anyone’s guess. One gets the feeling that Garmin – Cervelo have identified different targets for each of this trio of riders. With Hushovd having the ability to go well at the likes of Paris – Roubaix, he may sacrifice his own chances to help a team mate.

Tyler Farrar
The American is one of the few riders who has come close to challenging Mark Cavendish in recent years. He has three wins under his belt already this year and is a very fast finisher, albeit probably not as explosive as Cavendish. Unlike the British rider, he has no problem on the hills and has showed well in the other classics. If Cavendish isn’t just hiding his light under a bushel and really is a bit short of his best, Farrar should have the ability to beat him in a straight up sprint.

Philippe Gilbert
Gilbert has emerged as one of the top tier classics stars over the past two years and probably more so than any other rider, has the ability to win nearly any of them. He’s already got one Amstel Gold and two Giros di Lombardia on his palmares. He’s started this year with a bang, winning a on the gravel roads of the Montepaschi Strade Bianche and getting an excellent stage win in the Tirreno – Adriatico. Winning today though will be hard. He’ll need to mount a late attack before the summit of the Poggio and hope that some do go with him. As good as Gilbert is, he isn’t superman, as evidenced in the World Championships when a late solo attack was reeled in with 2km to go.

Alessandro Petacchi
Now nearing the end of his career, Petacchi is still one of the fast men in the peloton. He needs a good lead out and prefers an ultra fast finish. He isn’t really a man for the jump. The received wisdom about Petacchi is that he’s probably too big a rider to get over the climbs and arrive in San Remo fresh for the sprint. Nevertheless, he’s won once, in 2005, and came third last year. He was suffering from a heavy cold last week and, at one point, his participation was doubtful. If he’s recovered, he may well be a threat and should be ably assisted by one of the best lead out men in the business at the moment, Danilo Hondo.

Tom Boonen
Boonen was second last year, third in 2007 and fourth in 2006. He’s clearly got the pedigree to get a win, but the issue with Boonen is the same as it is every year for Milan – San Remo. He’s Belgium’s biggest star and hence his priorities are always going to be the Tour of Flanders and Paris – Roubaix. Boonen would be delighted to win in Italy, but he’s never going to sacrifice his chances in April to peak for this race. He was suffering from flu during the Tirreno – Adriatico, but says he’s recovered. If that’s the case, he could very well be in contention but whether he has the form yet to get the win is an unknown.

Filippo Pozzato
A gifted classics rider, Pozzato still has only one major classics win to his name, the 2006 edition for Milan – San Remo, a victory that established his reputation. He had a sterling season in 2009 and was unlucky not to get some bigger results. Last year was interrupted by illness during April, what was meant to be his peak. However, Pozzato has drawn fire for his tactics. He has a tendency to follow wheels and never attack for himself. This has led to him frustrating some of his rivals and could be the reason why he is always the nearly man. Whether he will become more adventurous this year is anybody’s guess. If he can get into a late break with the likes of Gilbert he could be very dangerous.

Fabian Cancellara
The Swiss rider won in an extraordinary fashion in 2008, when he literally rode everybody else off his wheel in the closing kilometres. As a multiple World Time Trial Champion, he’s one of the few riders around who can attempt something as audacious as that. Repeating that feat would be difficult, even for him. His best hope of victory, like Pozzato and Gilbert, would be getting into a late break. According to Cancellara, his targets for this year are again the Tour of Flanders and Paris – Roubaix, where he is the defending champion of both. If Cancellara isn’t contesting the win, he could be a great lead out man for his team mate, the currently under performing sprinter, Daniele Bennati.

Other men to watch are Cavendish’s team mate Matt Goss, who has won six times already this year and will be plan B for HTC – Highroad. Lotto’s sprinter Andre Greipel could be a dark horse, as could be the young Liquigas rider Peter Sagan. Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagan could also feature since he seems to be improving after suffering injury in 2010.

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