The Classics Season has begun

CEBU, Philippines - After all the bad press that has happened to the sport the past month, its time to focus on what make the sport exciting- racing! The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad(sorry if I twisted your tongue!), a Belgian semi-classic, kicked off the classic season “unofficially” two weekends ago and was won by Italian Luca Paolini. Unfortunately, the cyclists didn’t look exactly very exciting as they were wrapped in cold weather gear. In fact, another semi-classic, Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne was cancelled due to heavy snow.

I have written about Peter Sagan (team CANNONDALE), the 23yo Slovak who I believe is about to breakout this classics season. Last Thursday, in the GP Camaiore, he seemed to toy with his adversaries before beating them handily in a bunch sprint. He was well supported by teammate Moreno Moser. Now if the surname sounds familiar, it’s because Moreno is the nephew of the great Francesco Moser, former Girod’Italia and World champion. Francesco was the rider to beat Eddy Merckx hour record using an aerodynamic bicycle.

Last Saturday, Sagan paid Moser back in the Strade Bianchi, the Italian equivalent of Paris-Roubaix held in the picturesque Tuscan region. Moser escaped with 20km to go while Sagan kept the other favorites in check. The defending champion, Fabian Cancellara, was flustered and could only manage 4th. I wonder if Cancellara can capture the magical 2010 season, where his dominant performance saw him accused of allegedly placing a mechanical motor on his machine!

I didn’t see this Sagan-Moser tandem coming but I bet the other teams are back in the drawing board plotting against them in the next 2 months. The one thing I like about Sagan is his maturity at such a young age. He won two stages in last years Tour de France by beating, again, Cancellara! He can climb, he can sprint, he is a fearless descender and can time trial as well. And best of all, he has the nose for winning.

(Milan-San Remo will be on March 16. Watch it via internet streaming here: www.steephill.tv. Coverage starts at around (9:30PM) (FREEMAN)