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Italy 21 Mar 2026 Class 1.UWT – 1 day – UCI Men’s WorldTour
Website www.milanosanremo.it
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
The 2026 Milano-Sanremo (the “Classicissima”) is running on Saturday, March 21, 2026. This is the 117th edition of the men’s race, and it remains the longest one-day race on the professional calendar.
Race Schedule & Key Milestones (CET)
The race start in Pavia (south of Milan) and spans 298 km.
| Time | Event / Location | Status |
| 10:00 | Official Start in Pavia | Completed |
| 13:37 | Passo del Turchino (Summit) | Completed |
| 15:42 | Capo Mele (Start of the “Tre Capi”) | Upcoming |
| 16:00 | Capo Berta (Hardest of the capes) | Upcoming |
| 16:28 | Cipressa (5.6 km at 4.1%) | Critical Phase |
| 16:48 | Poggio di Sanremo (3.7 km at 3.7%) | Decisive Attack |
| ~16:55 | Finish on Via Roma | Expected Arrival |
The Route Details
- The Start: For the third consecutive year, the race began in Pavia rather than central Milan to avoid logistical issues, though the route rejoined the “classic” path quickly.
- The Turchino: The traditional midpoint where the race leaves the plains and descends toward the sea.
- The Finale: The race is traditionally won or lost in the final 25 km, specifically on the descent of the Cipressa or the steep ramps (up to 8%) near the top of the Poggio.
How to Watch Live Now
If you are looking to catch the finish, live coverage is currently active:
- Italy: RAI Sport / RAI 2 (Free)
- UK: TNT Sports / Discovery+
- USA: HBO Max / FloBikes
- Australia: SBS On Demand (Free)
- Europe: Eurosport / Discovery+
Top Contenders
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek): The primary threat if the race ends in a reduced bunch sprint.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): The heavy favorite, expected to make a massive move on the Poggio.
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck): The defending specialist in high-speed, technical finishes.
Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike): Looking for a repeat of his 2020 victory.
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
The Milano-Sanremo, known affectionately as La Primavera (The Spring) or La Classicissima, is the longest one-day race in professional cycling and the first of the five “Monuments” of the season.
Its history is defined by its massive distance—nearly 300 km—and a finish that has been carefully engineered over a century to balance the odds between sprinters and attackers.
1. The Early Years (1907–1940s)
The race was born from a failed attempt at a two-day automobile rally. In 1907, Tullo Morgagni, a journalist for La Gazzetta dello Sport, proposed a one-day bike race instead.
- The First Winner: Frenchman Lucien Petit-Breton won the inaugural 1907 edition, averaging just 26 km/h over 286 km of unpaved, brutal roads.
- Italian Dominance: For the first half of the 20th century, the race was a matter of national pride. Legends like Costante Girardengo (6 wins) and Gino Bartali (4 wins) turned the race into an Italian stronghold.
- The “Campionissimo”: In 1946, Fausto Coppi delivered one of the most famous performances in history, attacking 147 km from the finish and winning by a staggering 14 minutes.
2. The Merckx Era & The Poggio (1950s–1970s)
By the late 1950s, the race had become too “easy” for the growing peloton, frequently ending in large bunch sprints.
- The Addition of the Poggio (1960): To stop the sprinters from dominating, organizers added the Poggio di Sanremo climb just 6 km from the finish. It immediately changed the race’s DNA, favoring “puncheurs” who could explode uphill.
- The Cannibal: Eddy Merckx holds the all-time record with 7 victories (1966–1976). He treated the race as his personal playground, winning via solo breaks and small group sprints alike.
3. The Modern Sprint Architecture (1980s–2000s)
As riders got fitter, the Poggio alone wasn’t enough to break the pack.
- The Cipressa (1982): Organizers added the Cipressa climb (roughly 22 km from the finish) to soften the legs of the pure sprinters even earlier.
- The Sprinter Kings: Despite the new climbs, the 90s and 2000s saw the rise of specialist “Sanremo sprinters” like Erik Zabel (4 wins) and Oscar Freire (3 wins), who possessed the endurance to survive the climbs and still win on the Via Roma.
4. The Contemporary “Chess Match” (2010s–Present)
Today, Milano-Sanremo is often described as “300 kilometers of boredom followed by 15 minutes of pure insanity.”
- The Attackers’ Renaissance: In recent years, the race has shifted back toward solo attackers and “monsters” like Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar, and Matej Mohorič (who famously used a dropper post to win on the descent in 2022).
- The 2025 Milestone: Last year saw the launch of the modern Milano-Sanremo Donne, finally giving the women’s peloton a matching “Monument” on the same weekend.
All-Time Records
| Category | Record Holder | Statistic |
| Most Wins | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | 7 wins |
| Most Podiums | Costante Girardengo (ITA) | 11 podiums |
| Fastest Edition | Gianni Bugno (1990) | 45.8 km/h avg |
| Longest Edition | 1910 edition | 12h 24m (Winner: Eugène Christophe) |
