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Kwiatko - wow. What a rider. You'd be crazy to start him hoping that he'd win MSR (or, for that matter, some of the other races he's won) but he's an incredible racer who uses his head and has the legs to seal the deal. He'll never be a prolific winner like Sagan but I think he'll have the palmares to match.
Sagan got Cancellara'd! He could have taken his chance in the field sprint but he's been racing on feel, which is exciting. Blowing open a nearly 20-second gap on the Poggio and driving it to the line is one of the most powerful performances on the Poggio I've seen in modern racing.
Alaphillipe - big time runner-up over the past few years. If he doesn't change things around he'll shape up to be an Ardennes GVA.
The situation - straight up Tactics 101. Sagan had to go and the others didn't have to pull. I was surprised that Alaphillipe took a pull or two, and Kwiatko took one, I think, but once they were on the flats, they didn't have to. Sag did. Forced to the front with 1.5km to go? Zugzwang.
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