No Mark Cavendish at Milano-Sanremo confirmed: "It's changed as a race to what it once was, when I won it"
Cycling
Milano-Sanremo is no longer a race for the sprinters, but one for the classics specialists and puncheurs. Every year it gets harder and harder, and Mark Cavendish has confirmed that he will not take to the start line in the first place.
"Milan-San Remo will always be a special race for me but this season I also have a job to do. I rode it last year, it's changed as a race to what it once was, when I won it," he told Cyclingnews at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Cavendish won La Classicissima in 2009, 15 years ago this year. Around that year, other winners surged such as Mario Cippolini, Matthew Goss and Geral Ciolek, riders who had in the sprint their main weapon. Ever since 2017 however not a single edition has been won by a sprinter, and every year the action seems to kick off earlier and harder, as the classics specialists are more and more intent on making the difference in the small climbs. Cavendish does not have the legs to match this.
Last year he returned to the Italian monument but finished 150th as he was unable to follow the peloton uphill - the same would be expected this year if he returned. "The sport is what it is. I always watch the big one day races and I'll watch it with my son Casper, he loves the Classics, so it will still be a special day for me," he concluded. The Kazakh team will rely on the likes of Christian Scaroni to perform there, whilst Cavendish focuses on the flat classics such as Classic Brugge - De Panne and Scheldeprijs.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026
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🇮🇹 RACE: @TirrenAdriatico Second stage of #TirrenoAdriatico finished with a bunch sprint as expected. Unfortunately we did not have a chance to watch the sprint of @MarkCavendish 💨 due to a flat tyre and wheel change in the final kilometres of the race. #AstanaQazaqstanTeam
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