It was hard to ignore the drama at the front of the men's race during the final stages of Milan-San Remo at the weekend. The titanic duel between eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel, world champion Tadej Pogacar and Italian powerhouse Filippo Ganna in their three-man breakaway, which formed on the slopes of the Cipressa meant the rest of the race was largely forgotten for the last fifteen kilometres or so.
However, hiding in the bunch as the leading trio waged war at the front was a special bike from BMC, which as far as we know was only given to Tudor Pro Cycling teammates and leaders Julian Alpahillipe and Marc Hirschi. Both men were riding the BMC Teammachine R Masterpiece for Milan San Remo, the brand's very expensive, top-tier, special-order road bike. Hirschi had also jumped the gun slightly it seemed and used the Masterpiece, easily distinguishable from other team bikes due to its unpainted black handlebar at other Italian races in the run-up to San Remo.
