News

Milano-Sanremo is the first of the so-called 5 monuments of the year, the five most prestigious one-day races on the calendar: Milano-Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia. Each of these races has its history, which in the case of Milano-Sanremo dates back to 1907 and is marked by a long mileage (293 km) and a mostly flat route, being considered the best suited monument for sprinters. In recent years, however, puncheurs have found out that by tightening the pace on the final climbs they could avoid a sprint finish, so the character of the race has changed.

Route

The route has not undergone major changes in recent years. As we said, the 293 km that separate Milan from Sanremo make the race the longest of the year, which is decisive to understand the selection that occurs in the two final climbs. In the Cipressa (5.6 km at 4.1%) speed begins to be very violent, it is really in the Poggio di Sanremo (3.6 km at 3.7%), crested 6 km from finish line, where in recent years the puncheurs have given everything to get rid of the sprinters.

Favorites

Wout Van Aert (1200), Caleb Ewan (1000), Julian Alaphilippe (1200), Peter Sagan (1000), Michael Matthews (800) and Matej Mohorič (600) have had good results in the race and start as favorites alongside reigning champion Jasper Stuyven (600), who surprised everyone with a brilliant tactical display last year. However, all these favorites have been overshadowed because the two Slovenian stars have confirmed their presence in the race: Primož Roglič (1200), who has just won Paris-Nice, and Tadej Pogačar (1200), who has won all the 3 races in which he has participated in 2022 (UAE Tour, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico). Both riders have the power to make a difference at the Poggio and the ambition to contest the race.