 2025 Milan–Sanremo | |
 | |
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | Mid-March |
| Region | Northwest Italy |
| English name | Milan–Sanremo |
| Local name(s) | Milano–Sanremo(in Italian) |
| Nickname(s) | La Classicissima di primavera(in Italian) |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | UCI World Tour |
| Type | One-day cycling race |
| Organiser | RCS Sport |
| Race director | Mauro Vegni |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1907 (1907) |
| Editions | 116 (as of 2025) |
| First winner |  Lucien Petit-Breton (FRA) |
| Most wins |  Eddy Merckx (BEL)(7 wins) |
| Most recent |  Mathieu van der Poel (NED) |
Milan–Sanremo (inItalianMilano-Sanremo), also called "The Spring classic" or "La Classicissima", is an annualroad cycling race betweenMilan andSanremo, inNorthwest Italy. With a distance of 298 kilometres (185 mi), it is the longest professional one-day race in modern road cycling in Europe. It is the first majorclassic race of the season, usually held on the third Saturday of March. The first edition was held in1907.[1]
It is traditionally the first of the fiveMonuments of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycling. It was the opening race of theUCI Road World Cup series until the series was replaced by theUCI ProTour in 2005 and theWorld Tour in 2011.
The most successful rider with seven victories is BelgianEddy Merckx.[2] ItalianCostante Girardengo achieved 11 podium finishes in theinterwar period, winning the race six times. In modern times, GermanErik Zabel and SpaniardÓscar Freire have recorded four and three wins respectively.
Milan–San Remo is considered asprinters classic because of its mainly flat course (although thePoggio climb close to the finish has often been an opportunity forpuncheurs androuleurs),[3] whereas the other Italian Monument race, theGiro di Lombardia, held in autumn, is considered aclimbers classic.[4]
From 2025,Milan–San Remo Women was held after a 20-year hiatus. The event is organised on the same day albeit over a shorter distance and is part of theUCI Women's World Tour.[5][6]
The idea of a bike race betweenMilan andSanremo originated from theUnione Sportiva Sanremese.[1] A first amateur race was held on 2 and 3 April 1906 over two stages (Milan–Acqui Terme and Acqui Terme–Sanremo);[7] albeit with little success. Milanese journalistTullo Morgagni, who had launched theTour of Lombardy in 1905, put forth the idea of organizing a professional cycling race in a single day over the course. He proposed the project toEugenio Costamagna, the director of the popular sports newspaperGazzetta dello Sport, who took on the organization.[1]
On 14 April 1907 thefirst official edition of Milan–San Remo was held. The start was at the Conca Fallata inn of Milan at 5 a.m. Sixty riders registered, but only 33 took the start. The inaugural contest was especially hard as it was affected by exceptionally cold weather. It was won by FrenchmanLucien Petit-Breton, who completed the 286 kilometers (177 miles) in an average speed of 26.206 km/h (16.5 mph).[1] Only 14 riders finished.
The race was a commercial success and attracted some of the best riders of European cycling, prompting the Gazzetta dello Sport to organize asecond edition in 1908, won by Belgium'sCyrille Van Hauwaert. The first Italian winner of Milan–San Remo wasLuigi Ganna who won in1909 by an hour over FrenchmanEmile Georget.
In1910 thePrimavera gained eternal fame and a place in cycling legend because of the extreme weather conditions.[1] Riders needed to take refuge in the houses along the roads because a severesnowstorm scourged the peloton.[8] Just four out of 63 riders finished the race. FrenchmanEugène Christophe won, even though he thought he had taken a wrong road and did not realize he was the first to reach Sanremo. Christophe finished the race in 12 hours and 24 minutes, making it the slowest edition ever.Giovanni Cocchi finished second at 1h 17 minutes from the winner.[9]
After the pioneering days of the race, began the era ofCostante Girardengo, who connected his name indelibly to the classic. From 1917 to 1928 Girardengo had a record 11 podium finishes, six times as winner. Subsequent years were marked by the rivalry betweenLearco Guerra andAlfredo Binda, whoseemulation caused them to lose several certain victories. A similar rivalry was the one in the 1940s with the mythical years ofFausto Coppi andGino Bartali, whose duels were the subject of intense coverage and resulted in epic races.
Milan–San Remo was at the peak of its popularity and the Italian press started to coin the untranslatable termLa Classicissima, the greatest of all classics.[3] From 1935 to 1953 the race was run every year on 19 March, the feast ofpatronSaint Joseph, hence the press in predominantlyCatholic Italy gave it its other nickname,la Gara di San Giuseppe(Saint Joseph's Race). In1949 the race finished for the first time on the iconicVia Roma, a busy shopping street in the heart of Sanremo.
As from the 1950s the race was mainly won by Belgian and Spanish sprinters, and after 1953, Italian riders could not seal a victory for 17 years.[7] In1960 race directorVincenzo Torriani added the climb of the Poggio, just before the arrival in Sanremo.[1] The intent was to make the race finale harder, but the decision did not have the aspired effect and the streak of non-Italian victories continued.
In1966 began the legendary era ofEddy Merckx, who achieved an unsurpassed record of seven victories.[2] Seven wins is also the record number of victories by a rider in a singleclassic to date. After theCannibal's streak no rider could dominate Milan–San Remo again until 1997,[10] when GermanErik Zabel began a series of four victories and two second places.[2][11]
In1990 ItalianGianni Bugno set a race record of 6h 25 m 06 seconds to win by 4 seconds overRolf Gölz, averaging 45.8 kmh (28.45 mph). Another memorable running was the one in1992, whenSeán Kelly caughtMoreno Argentin in the descent of the Poggio and beat the Italian in a two-man sprint.[2] It was Kelly's penultimate career win. In between Erik Zabel's wins,Andrei Tchmil won the1999 contest, after he launched a decisive attack under the one-kilometer banner and narrowly stayed ahead of the sprinting peloton, with Zabel coming in second place.[12]
In2004 Zabel could have won a fifth time, but lost toÓscar Freire only because he lifted his arms to celebrate and stopped pedalling too early.[2][13] Freire would go on to secure a total of threePrimavera wins in later years.[14] In2008 the finish was moved to a different location for the first time in 59 years, due to road works on the Via Roma. SwissFabian Cancellara was the first winner on the Lungomare Italo Calvino, after an ultimate solo attack in the streets of San Remo.[15]
In2009 the 100th edition of Milan–San Remo was held, won by British sprinterMark Cavendish on his first attempt.[16] Cavendish beat AustralianHeinrich Haussler in amillimeter sprint.[17]
The race of2013 was affected by abysmal weather conditions from start to finish. Heavy snowfall and below-zero temperatures forced organizers to shorten the race by 52 kilometres (32 miles) eliminating two key climbs – thePasso del Turchino and Le Manie – and arranging a bus transfer for the race to begin a second time.[18] The race was won by GermanGerald Ciolek who outsprintedPeter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara.[19]
In2015 race directorMauro Vegni decided to move the finish back to the Via Roma after seven years on the seaside, stating the change would be for 2015 and beyond.[20] GermanJohn Degenkolb won the race ahead of previous winnerAlexander Kristoff.[21] The2016 race was won by French sprinterArnaud Démare in a bunch sprint, but Démare was accused after the race of having used the tow of his teamcar to rejoin the pack on the Cipressa climb.[22] Démare rebuffed these allegations, stating that the race commissioners were right behind him and would have disqualified him had he done something illegal.[23][N 1]
In2017Michał Kwiatkowski became the first Polish winner of a monument in a three-up sprint finish with world champion Peter Sagan andJulian Alaphilippe after the trio broke clear on the race's final climb – thePoggio di San Remo.[25]
The2020 edition was forced to move to August due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Italy, making it the first ever summer edition of theSpring classic. The edition was won by BelgianWout van Aert.[26] In2024, the race underwent notable route changes, notably featuring a new start destination inPavia, located just outside ofMilan.[27]
In2025, the race was won by Dutch riderMathieu van der Poel for the second time, beating ItalianFilippo Ganna and Slovenian world championTadej Pogačar in a sprint finish – withL'Équipe calling the race "one of the most memorable 'Primaveras'",[28] andCycling Weekly stating the race had been "an epic duel".[29] On the Cipressa, the trio broke the climbing record by 20 seconds, previously set byGabriele Colombo andAlexander Gontchenkov at the1996 Milan–San Remo.
Upon its inception, Milan–San Remo was conceived as a straightforward line fromMilan, the industrial heart ofNorthern Italy, toSan Remo, the fashionable seaside resort on theItalian Riviera with its trademarkBelle Epoque villas. The race starts on thePiazza del Duomo in the heart of Milan and immediately heads to the southwest, over the plains ofLombardy andPiedmont, along the cities ofPavia,Voghera,Tortona,Novi Ligure andOvada. As the race entersLiguria, the peloton addresses thePasso del Turchino, the first climb of the day, after 140 km.[30][31]
After the descent of the Turchino the race reaches theLigurian Sea inVoltri at halfway point. From here the course follows theAurelia highway to the west,[30] with its spectacular and typical scenery along the Ligurian Coast. The race crosses the towns ofArenzano,Varazze,Savona,Finale Ligure,Pietra Ligure,Loano,Borghetto Santo Spirito,Ceriale andAlbenga, followed by the seaside resorts along the Riviera dei Fiori (Alassio,Andora,Diano Marina andImperia). Between Alassio and Imperia, three short hills along the coast are included: the Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta.[32] InSan Lorenzo al Mare the course turns inwards to theCipressa, the next climb, with its top at 22 km from the finish. After the towns ofSanto Stefano al Mare andArma di Taggia comes the last and most famous climb, thePoggio di Sanremo, in fact a suburb of Sanremo, built upon a hill along the sea.
From the top of the Poggio, 5.4 km from the finish, the course heads down via a fast and curvy descent towards the center of Sanremo, where the race traditionally finishes on the Via Roma, the city's illustrious shopping street.[30][32]
Being the longest professional one-day race, Milan–San Remo is an unusual test of endurance early in the season.[30][33] It is often won not by the fastest sprinter, but by the strongest and best prepared rider with a strong sprint finish. The Cipressa and Poggio have foiled many sprinters who could not stay with the front group.
In the early years the only significant difficulty was thePasso del Turchino, which was often a pivotal site of the race – but when cycling became more professional, the climb was not demanding enough and too far from the finish to be decisive. In 1960 thePoggio, a 4 km climb just a few kilometres before the finish, was introduced. In 1982 theCipressa, nearImperia, was added.[1] The other hills are the Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta. From 2008 to 2014 the organizers added the climb ofLe Manie as well, between the Turchino and theCapi.[7] The Turchino and Le Manie are longer climbs, meant to cause a first selection in the peloton, while the Capi, Cipressa and Poggio are rather short, inviting attackers to distance the peloton.
In recent years there has rarely been a big selection in the latter stages of the race. Many sprinters are able to keep up with the main peloton on the climbs, and therefore the race most often ends in a groupsprint. Nonetheless, the location of the Poggio close to the finish has often meant that riders' position on top of the Poggio is crucial in order to win the race.[34]
Despite its flat course and long finishing straight, sprinters' teams have been foiled from time to time by a determined attack on the last hills. Good examples includeLaurent Jalabert andMaurizio Fondriest escaping in1995 and staying ahead to the finish.[35] In2003,Paolo Bettini attacked withLuca Paolini andMirko Celestino to stay ahead. In2012,Vincenzo Nibali andFabian Cancellara attacked on the Poggio, followed by AustralianSimon Gerrans, who outsprinted them at the finish.[36] In2018, Nibali attacked on the final bends of the Poggio, resisting the return of the group to win by a small margin.
Milan–San Remo has had few significant course changes since its first edition, and organizers have made it a matter of honour to stay true to the original intent.[7]
The last change to the course was the inclusion of Le Manie, in 2008. In September 2013, organiserRCS Sport announced the race would include thePompeiana climb between the Cipressa and Poggio.[37] To keep the race at a reasonable distance, it would exclude Le Manie. The Pompeiana, named after the village the road passes, climbs five kilometres with a 13% maximum gradient, and would therefore be the most difficult climb in the race finale.[7]
The proposed route was reversed just weeks before the race in March 2014, when the Pompeiana had been damaged by recent landslides, making it too dangerous for a cycling race to pass.[38] Hence the race was re-routed and made more traditional and sprinter-friendly. This led to a number of sprinters, who had earlier ruled themselves out due to the addition of the extra climb, includingMark Cavendish, declaring their interest in riding again.[39]
In2015, the climb of Le Manie was cut from the race, and neither was thePompeiana included in the trajectory. With this pre-2008 route, race organizers stated they want to respect the race's traditional course.[40]
In 2023, the start of the race moved toAbbiategrasso.[41] In2024, the race underwent notable route changes, notably featuring a new start destination inPavia, located just outside ofMilan.[27]
The2020 edition, already extraordinary in being held in the midst of summer, followed a new route. This was due to the extraordinary conditions determined first by the pandemics, and then by the sudden refusal, just a few weeks before the race, by the mayors of several seaside town to let the race pass through the coastal highway, or "Via Aurelia", heavily engaged by tourist traffic in August whereas it is much less suffocated by it in March, the usual racing time. The race ended up being 306 km long, with a heavy detour through theLanghe hills and theTanaro river valley before reaching the western Ligurian coast through the Col di Nava pass and the Colle San Bartolomeo tunnel, only reaching the usual route atImperia.[42]
Riders in italics are still active
| Wins | Rider | Editions |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | 1966,1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976 |
| 6 |  Costante Girardengo (ITA) | 1918, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1928 |
| 4 | Gino Bartali (ITA) | 1939, 1940, 1947, 1950 |
 Erik Zabel (GER) | 1997,1998,2000,2001 | |
| 3 | Fausto Coppi (ITA) | 1946, 1948, 1949 |
| Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) | 1973, 1978, 1979 | |
 Óscar Freire (ESP) | 2004,2007,2010 | |
| 2 | Gaetano Belloni (ITA) | 1917, 1920 |
| Alfredo Binda (ITA) | 1929, 1931 | |
| Giuseppe Olmo (ITA) | 1935, 1938 | |
| Loretto Petrucci (ITA) | 1952, 1953 | |
| Miguel Poblet (ESP) | 1957, 1959 | |
| Laurent Fignon (FRA) | 1988, 1989 | |
 Seán Kelly (IRL) | 1986, 1992 | |
| Mathieu van der Poel (NED) | 2023, 2025 |
| Wins | Country |
|---|---|
| 51 | Italy |
| 23 | Belgium |
| 14 | France |
| 7 | Germany (including West Germany) |
| 5 | Netherlands Spain |
| 2 |  Australia Great Britain Ireland Switzerland |
| 1 |  Norway Poland Slovenia |
From 1999 to 2005 seven editions ofPrimavera Rosa were held. The race was organized on the same day and finished in Sanremo shortly before the men, but covered a shorter distance. The start was not inMilan, but inVarazze. It was part of theUCI Women's Road World Cup. The 2006 edition was initially planned but cancelled before the event.[43] RussianZoulfia Zabirova was the only rider to win twice.
In 2023, RCS Sport announced that a women's edition of the race would be held from 2024.[44] From 2025,Milano–San Remo Donne was held as part of theUCI Women's World Tour over a shorter distance on the same day as the men's race.[6]
The Granfondo Milano-Sanremo is an annualcyclosportive event for recreational cyclists over the same course as the professional race from Milan to San Remo. It is one of the oldestGranfondos in Italy, founded in 1971 by theUnione Cicloturistica Sanremo and popular among cyclotourists from all over the world. It is currently held the second Sunday in June and 2021 (postponed from 2020) was its 50th edition.[45][46]
