Gritty Ganna second in Sanremo

Filippo Ganna put in a tremendous, determined performance to finish second in a thrilling edition of Milan-Sanremo as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deuceunick) sealed victory. 

Ganna sprinted to second place ahead of Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) after the INEOS Grenadiers had put in a superb team performance to help position the Italian for a thrilling finale. 

Despite being dropped on La Cipressa and the Poggio climbs, the tenacious Ganna fought back into contention each time, catching his rivals in the closing metres to setup a three-up sprint that saw him record his second La Classicissima podium in three years. 

Earlier, the Grenadiers had maintained a watchful eye over the front of the peloton and were well-positioned to ensure safe passage in rainy conditions. 

Then with 63km to go, Geraint Thomas came to the front of the bunch to push the pace with 63km to go.

He helped position the Grenadiers into the first of the 'Tres Capi' climbs, the Capo Mele, which saw Connor Swift unfortunately caught behind a crash with 51km remaining. 

Connor Swift fought back to re-join his teammates for the Capo Cervo and help maintain a strong position before his cousin Ben Swift then continued the excellent work on the front to push the pace towards the Cipressa, where Ben Turner took over pace-setting.

A Chaotic start to the Cipressa saw a crash half-way down the peloton which slowed the bunch as UAE Team Emirates started to increase the pace.

However, Ganna was well-placed and one of only three riders able to follow Pogacar who attacked and split the lead group. This quartet quickly became a trio as Ganna, Pogacar and Van der Poel went clear of the chasing group - never to be caught. 

Accelerations from Pogacar on the Poggio ascent saw Ganna drop back, but he stuck to his rhythm and slowly clawed the lead duo back after the descent to setup a grandstand finale on the Via Roma. 

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Filippo Ganna