Giant Alpecin's John Degenkolb has won the 106th Milan-San Remo race.
The longest race of the calendar at 294kms, the race started with a 8.5km neutralised section through the streets of Milan before the start line in Piazza Sempione on a wet and cold morning.
Attacks started as soon as the flag was dropped with Sebastian Molano (Colombia), Maarten Tjallingii (LottoNL-Jumbo) , Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) and Andrea Peron (Novo Nordisk) launching the first break away from a field of 195 other riders.
The front group soon grew to eleven riders in Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18), Sebastian Molano (Colombia), Maarten Tjallingii (LottoNL-Jumbo) Andrea Peron (Novo Nordisk), Stefano Pirazzi (CSF Bardiani), Adrian Kurek (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida), Serge Pauwels (MTN-Qhubeka), Julien Berard (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Androni Giocattoli) and Marco Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli) and they went over the Po, in the direction of Voghera with a lead of ten minutes.
With 216kms gone, their lead had fallen to 7.45 and eight kilometres later with Katusha, working for a victory for Alexander Kristoff, on the front, the gap had dropped to 7.20.
Through the 100kms gone mark and their lead was still 6.45 as the riders went through the first feedzone at Campo Ligure.
Over the Turchino in the pouring rain and the lead had dropped to 4.47 as Trek, Katusha, Lampre and Tinkoff-Saxo all took turns on the front of the peloton.
The rain stopped by the time the riders had gone through the second feedzone with 67kms left.
Team Sky took over on the front and that helped to further force down the lead to Bono and Pirazzi, who had taken this as their cue to attack.
Christopher Juul Jensen was one rider who has crashed and had to abandon as Team Sky's British trio of Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift and Luke Rowe got away from the peloton and got to within thirty seconds of the two out front with 33 kilometres left.
Bono led going onto the Cipressa whilst behind him, Zdenek Stybar got up to the Team Sky trio.
Bono was caught with twenty five kilometres left and with around seventy riders now making up the peloton, attacks started to occur.
BMC sent men up the road before Oss took a second lead, only to be joined by Geraint Thomas.
Trek Factory were on the front going into the final ten kilometres but Thomas was still clear and he stayed away until being caught with five kilometres left.
There was a crash which saw Philippe Gilbert, Stybar and Gerard Ciolek all out of the race which saw Thomas back on the front trying to set up Ben Swift.
Under the flam rouge and Paolini took to the front. Alexander Kristoff of Katusha went early but John Degenkolb of Giant Alpecin who was in the third wheel, came to the fore and took the victory in 6.46.16 ahead of Kristoff and Michael Matthews.
"I still can't believe it," Degenkolb told his team's press office. "Today was amazing. It was really fast on the Poggio and I had to dig in and suffer there but my shape was good and the hard work over the past weeks and months paid off here.
"I managed to make it into a good position over the top of the Poggio and avoid the crashes and then in the final two kilometres it was just fighting for position and relying on instinct. Everything came together today.
"The whole team team were great today in keeping me out of the wind and making it as easy as possible from it. Then at the end Tom [Dumoulin] did a great job in getting me into position for the Poggio. I'm really proud of the result today."
Result
1John Degenkolb Giant-Alpecin
2 Alexander Kristoff Team Katusha
3 Michael Matthews Orica GreenEdge
4 Peter Sagan Tinkoff-Saxo
5 Niccolo Bonifazio Lampre-Merida
6 Nacer Bouhanni Cofidis, Solutions Credits
7 Fabian Cancellara Trek Factory Racing
8 Davide Cimolai Lampre-Merida
9 Tony Gallopin Lotto Soudal
10 Edvald Boasson Hagen MTN - Qhubeka