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March 19
1954 saw the 45th running of Milan-San Remo. It
was won by one of the greatest ever sprinters, the Belgian, Rik Van
Steenbergen. His professional career lasted an incredible 25 years from
1943 to 1966 which included three World Championships and eight Classic
wins. He was 42 years old when he retired. Sadly Rik Van Steenbergen
died following a long illness on 15 May 2003. He was 78 years old.
The participants included the great Italian Champions Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. The race also included other past winners in Louison Bobet (Fra), Loretto Petrucci (Ita) and Germaine Derijcke (Bel) who was to win in 1955. Coppi had been crowned World Champion at Lugano the previous year and was sporting his rainbow colours. |
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picture above shows the departure. Rik Van Steenbergen must have been
feeling good as he can already be seen at the front (second from the
right).
219 riders set out from Milan with 282km ahead of them. The race was held under grey skies with drizzle. The distance and conditions saw only 95 finishing in an average speed of 39.343 km/h. |
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| The wet conditions causes one of the riders to fall. | |
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| The picture on the left shows Donato Piazza (Ita) who has escaped at the foot of the Turchino. Centre picture is Michele Gismondi (Ita), out alone, going through Voltri. Right- the gruppo chasing the fugitive. | ||
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| On Capo Berta with dry roads. The picture on the left shows an attack by Riccardo Filippi (Ita), Raoul Remy (Fra), and Stan Ockers (Bel) who have distanced themselves from the peloton. The centre picture shows Fausto Coppi trying to detach himself from the pursuers. Van Steenbergen, not noted for his climbing abilities, can be seen on the right followed by a teammate. | ||
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| Filippi , Remy and Ockers are still away on the run in to San Remo. The effort they are putting in shown on their faces. In 1954 the Capo Berta was the final climb. They were to be swallowed up however by the chasers. |
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| Rik Van Steenbergen uses his explosive sprint to win the 1954 Milan-San Remo followed home by Anasti, Favero and Coppi. |
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| Rik Van Steenbergen talking to Fausto Coppi after the finish. Italy would now go through the longest period without a home winner, 16 years, until Michele Dancelli in 1970. |
| 1954 Milano-Sanremo Result |
| 1. RIK VAN STEENBERGEN
(Bel) in 7h 10' 03" 2. Francis Anastasi (Fra) st 3. Giuseppe Favero (Ita) 4. Fausto Coppi (Ita) 5. Loretto Petrucci (Ita) 6. Stan Ockers (Bel) 7. Désiré Keteleer (Bel) 8. Fiorenzo Magni (Ita) 9. Ettore Milano (Ita) 10. Guido Messina (Ita) |
| Complete result.>> |