 This was Cancellara's first year with his new team Leopard Trek, which lacked the high caliber domestiques that Cancellara had in the past, meaning that winning would be tougher for Cancellara. His first major race of the year was the Tirreno – Adriatico, where he won the race's final stage which was an individual time trial. Cancellara came to the Milan – San Remo with the hopes of winning the race a second time. He positioned himself in an eight-man breakaway that made it all the way to the finish. As the group approached the finish line, Cancellara was bested in the sprint for the line by Australian Matthew Goss and Cancellara crossed the line in second.
