Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) was 4th in today’s Milan-San Remo, and with his finish he earned the top spot in the UCI WorldTour rankings.

"It was a really hard race," Chavanel said on the OPQS-website afterwards. "Super fast, and with the stop and restart, it was pretty strange. This morning at the start I was really motivated, then when we had to start again the motivation was a little gone. But then once I got back on the bike, the pressure started again and I felt immediately good. So I decided to attack. I had really good legs today. The problem was in the last part of the Poggio I had cramps. It was really hard for me to push on my pedals due to the cramps. But I think all riders had the same problem because today we were really at the limit. It was impossible to do more than this. In the final I tried to start my sprint a little early, but the legs were empty at that point. But OK, I was 4th. It's bittersweet when you are so close to winning a big monument as Milan-San Remo and then you don't win. I'm a little bit disappointed, but at the same time feel really good about the job I did.”

Slept during break

Speaking of his newly gained position at the top of the WorldTour rankings, Chavanel said, “It’s only now after the race and a shower, that I realize it's not so bad to be number one in the world even for a week. I am so happy that I've reached my maturity at this time in my career. I feel really good, and I like my job and love riding my bike. As for what's next, we have another World Tour race on Friday, Harelbeke. I will try my best there. We have a strong team, and we will do our best to win the race."

When asked what he did during the neutralization of the race, Chavanel explained, "As for what I did during the race neutralization, I slept. I tried to sleep to recover. Also, I think all of the riders that finished are a little bit heroic. The conditions were really extreme, so I am happy to say I've done it and finished."