The first monument of the year
As every season, Milano-Sanremo is the first of the 5 monuments to be contested. The cycling monuments are the 5 classics that, due to their history and toughness, stand as the 5 most important one-day races of the year: Milano Sanremo, Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Il Lombardia.
The route
In the specific case of Milano-Sanremo, it's the race with the most kilometers of the entire season (288 km). With not too much elevation gain (2038 meters of positive elevation gain), it's the monument that best suits sprinters, although the final ascents to the Cipressa (5.4 km at 4.1%) and the Poggio (3.6 km at 3.7%) are climbed at full speed and have decided the race in the last editions.
The favorites
Mathieu Van Der Poel (800), Tadej Pogačar (1200), Matej Mohorič (600), Christophe Laporte (800), Mads Pedersen (1200), Thomas Pidcock (1000), Jasper Philipsen (1200), Filippo Ganna (1000), and Biniam Girmay (800) are some of the main favorites for victory.
Photo: Milano-Sanremo