BRAVE PIDCOCK GOES CLOSE AT MSR

MILAN-SAN REMO: PAVIA › SAN REMO, 288KM.

Tom Pidcock came agonisingly close to victory with a daring late attack that was caught within metres of the line as the Grenadiers put in a superb team performance at Milan-San Remo.

Pidcock responded to a surge in the closing kilometre by Matteo Sobrero, catching the Bora Hansgrohe rider before launching a counter-attack that saw him go clear on the Via Roma.

However, as the Yorkshireman sprinted to the line, an elite chase group were able to use their numerical advantage to reel Pidcock in 50 metres to the line, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deuceuninck) winning the first Monument of the season in the subsequent sprint. 

Earlier, the Grenadiers had worked well together throughout the latter stages of the race. Salvatore Puccio, Luke Rowe and Ben Swift had expertly positioned their teammates at the front of the peloton as the pace picked up in the final 60 kilometres.

Heading to the Tre Capi, Rowe and Swift then took it in turns to navigate the three climbs, which saw a number of crashes and incidents further back in the bunch. 

The Cipressa and Poggio remained, where Kwiatkowski was key in keeping his teammates Pidcock, Ganna and Jhonatan Narvaez near the front of an ever-dwindling peloton. 

Kwiatkowski led the riders onto the Poggio, which was a tense ascent with a late attack by Tadej Pogacar over the summit of the climb saw the UAE Team Emirates man followed by a small group that included Ganna and Pidcock. 

A bike issue for Ganna ruled him out of the run-in, but Pidcock was able to use his descending skills to bridge to Pogacar and last year's winner Mathieu van der Poel, before a counter from Matej Mohoric left the trio chasing. 

After Mohoric's acceleration was snuffed out, Pidcock was the first to respond to Sobrero's counter attack as the two gained a small advantage over the chasers.

The Grenadier then countered Sobrero and gapped the chase group, only to be reeled in just before the line as Philipsen triumphed.