Hello and welcome to LIVE coverage of Milano - Sanremo – and conditions are pretty treacherous. We've got just under 100km remaining and there's a front group of nine.

1. Vincenzo Nibali; 2. Caleb Ewan; 3. Arnaud Demare.

Pre-race favourite Peter Sagan was sixth. What drama.

NIBALI WINS MILANO-SANREMO! A crazy finish sees the Italian hold off the pack – JUST! – as a flurry of riders fly across the line just a second behind. He’s in the tears. Beautiful stuff.

Nibali glances over his shoulder… Trentin has been caught by a huge pack... The gap is closing...

Nibali comes off the descent alone. Two kilometres remain. The Monument he has coveted for so long is within touching distance… but the gap is down to seven seconds! Trentin is closing!

Matteo Trentin has had enough as he sets off in pursuit of his compatriot. The gap is at 10 seconds...

“I think he’s got enough!”

Eurosport expert Matt Stephens believes Nibali has got this. The Italian is looking mesmeric on the Poggio descent. Time is back up: his lead is steady at 12 seconds.

The race is opening out… Nibali grits his teeth. Helpfully, the time checks have stopped working, but the gap is significant!

HERE GOES NIBALI… The Italian is going for it. He wants to go alone.

A crash was almost inevitable given how many riders were in contention. Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre Drucker fancies this and opens up a little lead.

CRASH! Mark Cavendish smashes into a huge yellow bollard – he must have been unsighted. The Brit flies over his handlebars. Looks nasty.

Showtime. The Poggio will be the executioner of many of our hopefuls’ chances. Hang on… CRASH!

Michal Kwiatkowski is playing it a little tight. The defending champion is right at the back of the front pack and isn’t showing signs of moving through. Here comes the Poggio…

Lotto-Soudal take up the pace. Is this for our (read: my) man Griepel? Fifteen kilometres to go...

Peter Sagan moves past his team-mates, pausing for a chat with Daniel Oss. Remember: the Slovak has never won this Classic. How are his nerves?

Astana make an appearance at the front alongside Team Sky. The front group must be about 80 riders strong, but gaps are finally forming as the Cipressa switches from uphill to down. Arnaud Demare and Andre Greipel sneak up the pack. I had a fiver on the latter a few years ago – the German sprint specialist made it to the final kilometre in contention before cramp wrecked his chances. He would be a surprise winner, given the sapping finale, but don’t rule him out completely…

This race is brewing up for a Poggio showdown. No rider seems remotely interested in attacking on the Cipressa. Team Sky are at the front, controlling the pace.

But what about the Brits? Good news: Mark Cavendish, who has been in contention before, is still nicely stowed amongst the bunch. Steve Cummings has also been sighted.

Marcel Kittel, who was struggling with the increase of pace in the peloton, has been cut adrift.

Here we go then: the Cipressa. The first of two tasty final tests – a 5.6km climb that maxes out at around 10%. All the big guns in the move. Vincenzo Nibali slips up the inside of the peloton… and nearly whacks into a stationary car. Close call but the Italian survives.

...and it's gone.