Erik Zabel took his fourth victory in the Milan – San Remo classic, dominating the final sprint finish.
Having dreamed of victory weeks beforehand – “I only told my wife about the dream because I don’t like to boast. I prefer to let my legs do the talking” – Zabel was delighted to beat Cipollini and Vainsteins. Cipollini was less pleased “I dream of this race and I am again second.” he commented, while Vainsteins was fouled “With 300m to go Planckaert grabbed me by the jersey. I lost all my chances. To come back against Zabel under those circumstances is impossible.” with Plankaerts 19th place penalty small recompense.

The largely relaxed and uneventful race was also marred by a finish line crash which brought down several riders, leaving Dimitri Konyshev and Philippe Gaumont requiring stitches.

Full race report and results can be found on Cyclingnews.com.