The Milan-San Remo (Milano-Sanremo) annual cycle race is the longest professional one-day race in modern cycling at a distance of 298 km (185.2 miles).
Also known as the Spring Classic (La Classicissima), the Milan to San Remo race was due to run Saturday 21st March 2020, but was cancelled as Italy closed sporting events due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Milan San Remo cycling race is always the first classic race of the season, usually on the third Saturday of March in modern times.
The course starts in Milan in Northern Italy, up the Passo del Turchino, and descends to the seaside resort of San Remo on the Italian Riveria Ligurian Coast. The slow 6-hour race finishes in a famous dramatic down-hill conclusion, and with its flat course is considered a favourite of Sprinters (if not beaten by the Cipressa and Poggio).
The competition has been won 7 times by Eddy Merckx (Belgium), widely considered the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling.
The Milan-San Remo 2020 was run in August 2020 and was won by Wout van Aert, the first Belgian to win the race since 1999.
The 2021 Milan – San Remo was run Saturday 20th March, again to be the curtain-raiser for the Italian road race season. It was won by Jasper Stuyven of Belgium with a time of 6:38:06.
| Pos. | Rider Name (Country) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) | 6:38:06 |
| 2 | Caleb Ewan (Aus) | |
| 3 | Wout Van Aert (Bel) | |
| 4 | Peter Sagan (Svk) | |
| 5 | Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) | |
| 6 | Michael Matthews (Aus) | |
| 7 | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) | |
| 8 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) | |
| 9 | Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) | |
| 10 | Anthony Turgis (Fra) |
The history of the Milan to San Remo
The first race was held in 1906 in two parts on 2nd April (Milan–Acqui Terme) and 3rd April (Acqui Terme–Sanremo). The first one-day event was held on 14th April 1907 and started at 5am in cold weather. Only 14 of the 33 riders finished, despite attracting some of the best riders in Europe.
In 1910 due to extreme weather conditions, only 4 of the 63 riders passed the finish line. The winning time of 12 hours and 24 minutes remains the longest, but the race entered cycling folklore.
From 1917 to 1928 the great Italian rider Costante Girardengo won six races, with another 5 podium finishes. The 11 total is a record.
From 1935 to 1953 the Milan-San Remo was run every year on 19th March, on the feast of patron Saint Joseph. The press named it la Gara di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph’s Race) and the Milan-San Remo was also coined La Classicissima.
In 1997, there was a crash at the finish line involving Laurent Jalabert, Johan Museeuw and Maximilian Sciandri.
The Milan-San Remo route
The race starts on the Piazza del Duomo in Milan and heads to the southwest. Heading by the cities of Pavia, Voghera, Tortona, Novi Ligure and Ovada to the Liguria coast. After 140km the race hits the first and steepest climb of the day with the Passo del Turchino.
After the descent, the race reaches the Ligurian Sea in Voltri at the halfway point and continues with its spectacular coastal scenery.
In San Lorenzo al Mare the course hits the second climb with the Cipressa, 22 km from the finish.
The final and most famous climb is the Poggio di Sanremo, a suburb of San Remo.
The final 5.4km finish from the peak is a fast descent towards the Via Roma in the centre of Sanremo.
Amateurs can race the route on the 6th June 2021 by registering here.
What is the fastest winning time in the Milan San Remo bike
In 1990 Italian Gianni Bugno set a race record of 6h 25 m 06 seconds averaging 45.8 kmh (28.45 mph), the fastest winning time recorded for the Milan San Remo.
As of 2021, 12 nationalities have won the race with riders from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Switzerland.
Which Professional Cycle Riders have won the Milan San Remo most times?
| Eddy Merckx (BEL) | 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976 |
| Costante Girardengo (ITA) | 1918, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1928 |
| Gino Bartali (ITA) | 1939, 1940, 1947, 1950 |
| Erik Zabel (GER) | 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 |
| Fausto Coppi (ITA) | 1946, 1948, 1949 |
| Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) | 1973, 1978, 1979 |
| Óscar Freire (ESP) | 2004, 2007, 2010 |
| 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 |
Full list of Milan-San Remo winners
| Year | Country | Rider | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1907 |  France | Lucien Petit-Breton | Peugeot–Wolber | |
| 1908 |  Belgium | Cyrille van Hauwaert | Alcyon–Dunlop | |
| 1909 |  Italy | Luigi Ganna | Atala–Dunlop | |
| 1910 | France | Eugène Christophe | Alcyon–Dunlop | |
| 1911 | France | Gustave Garrigou | Alcyon–Dunlop | |
| 1912 | France | Henri Pélissier | Alcyon–Dunlop | |
| 1913 | Belgium | Odile Defraye | Alcyon–Soly | |
| 1914 | Italy | Ugo Agostoni | Bianchi–Dei | |
| 1915 | Italy | Ezio Corlaita | Dei | |
| 1916 | No race due to World War I | |||
| 1917 | Italy | Gaetano Belloni | Bianchi | |
| 1918 | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Bianchi | |
| 1919 | Italy | Angelo Gremo | Stucchi–Dunlop | |
| 1920 | Italy | Gaetano Belloni | Bianchi | |
| 1921 | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Stucchi–Pirelli | |
| 1922 | Italy | Giovanni Brunero | Legnano–Pirelli | |
| 1923 | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Maino | |
| 1924 | Italy | Pietro Linari | Legnano–Pirelli | |
| 1925 | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Wolsit–Pirelli | |
| 1926 | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Wolsit–Pirelli | |
| 1927 | Italy | Pietro Chesi | Ives-Pirelli | |
| 1928 | Italy | Costante Girardengo | Maino–Dunlop | |
| 1929 | Italy | Alfredo Binda | Legnano–Torpedo | |
| 1930 | Italy | Michele Mara | Bianchi | |
| 1931 | Italy | Alfredo Binda | Legnano–Hutchinson | |
| 1932 | Italy | Alfredo Bovet | Bianchi | |
| 1933 | Italy | Learco Guerra | Maino–Clément | |
| 1934 | Belgium | Jef Demuysere | Genial Lucifer–Hutchinson | |
| 1935 | Italy | Giuseppe Olmo | Bianchi | |
| 1936 | Italy | Angelo Varetto | Gloria | |
| 1937 | Italy | Cesare Del Cancia | Ganna | |
| 1938 | Italy | Giuseppe Olmo | Bianchi | |
| 1939 | Italy | Gino Bartali | Legnano | |
| 1940 | Italy | Gino Bartali | Legnano | |
| 1941 | Italy | Pierino Favalli | Legnano | |
| 1942 | Italy | Adolfo Leoni | Bianchi | |
| 1943 | Italy | Cino Cinelli | Bianchi | |
| 1944 | No race due to World War II | |||
| 1945 | No race due to World War II | |||
| 1946 |  Italy | Fausto Coppi | Bianchi | |
| 1947 | Italy | Gino Bartali | Legnano–Pirelli | |
| 1948 | Italy | Fausto Coppi | Bianchi | |
| 1949 | Italy | Fausto Coppi | Bianchi–Ursus | |
| 1950 | Italy | Gino Bartali | Bartali–Gardiol | |
| 1951 | France | Louison Bobet | Stella | |
| 1952 | Italy | Loretto Petrucci | Bianchi–Pirelli | |
| 1953 | Italy | Loretto Petrucci | Bianchi–Pirelli | |
| 1954 | Belgium | Rik Van Steenbergen | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | |
| 1955 | Belgium | Germain Derijcke | Alcyon–Dunlop | |
| 1956 | Belgium | Fred De Bruyne | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | |
| 1957 |  Spain | Miguel Poblet | Ignis–Doniselli | |
| 1958 | Belgium | Rik Van Looy | Faema–Guerra | |
| 1959 | Spain | Miguel Poblet | Ignis–Frejus | |
| 1960 | France | René Privat | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | |
| 1961 | France | Raymond Poulidor | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | |
| 1962 | Belgium | Emile Daems | Philco | |
| 1963 | France | Joseph Groussard | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | |
| 1964 |  Great Britain | Tom Simpson | Peugeot–BP–Englebert | |
| 1965 |  Netherlands | Arie den Hartog | Ford France–Gitane | |
| 1966 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Peugeot–Dunlop | |
| 1967 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | |
| 1968 |  Germany | Rudi Altig | Salvarani | |
| 1969 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Faema | |
| 1970 | Italy | Michele Dancelli | Molteni | |
| 1971 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Molteni | |
| 1972 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Molteni | |
| 1973 | Belgium | Roger De Vlaeminck | Brooklyn | |
| 1974 | Italy | Felice Gimondi | Bianchi–Campagnolo | |
| 1975 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Molteni–RYC | |
| 1976 | Belgium | Eddy Merckx | Molteni–Campagnolo | |
| 1977 | Netherlands | Jan Raas | Frisol–Thirion–Gazelle | |
| 1978 | Belgium | Roger De Vlaeminck | Sanson–Campagnolo | |
| 1979 | Belgium | Roger De Vlaeminck | Gis Gelati | |
| 1980 | Italy | Pierino Gavazzi | Magniflex–Olmo | |
| 1981 | Belgium | Alfons De Wolf | Vermeer Thijs | |
| 1982 | France | Marc Gomez | Wolber–Spidel | |
| 1983 | Italy | Giuseppe Saronni | Del Tongo–Colnago | |
| 1984 | Italy | Francesco Moser | Gis Gelati–Tuc Lu | |
| 1985 | Netherlands | Hennie Kuiper | Verandalux–Dries | |
| 1986 |  Ireland | Sean Kelly | Kas | |
| 1987 |  Switzerland | Erich Maechler | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | |
| 1988 | France | Laurent Fignon | Système U–Gitane | |
| 1989 | France | Laurent Fignon | Super U–Raleigh–Fiat | |
| 1990 | Italy | Gianni Bugno | Chateau d’Ax–Salotti | |
| 1991 | Italy | Claudio Chiappucci | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | |
| 1992 | Ireland | Sean Kelly | Lotus–Festina | |
| 1993 | Italy | Maurizio Fondriest | Lampre–Polti | |
| 1994 | Italy | Giorgio Furlan | Gewiss–Ballan | |
| 1995 | France | Laurent Jalabert | ONCE | |
| 1996 | Italy | Gabriele Colombo | Gewiss Playbus | |
| 1997 | Germany | Erik Zabel | Team Telekom | |
| 1998 | Germany | Erik Zabel | Team Telekom | |
| 1999 | Belgium | Andrei Tchmil | Lotto–Mobistar | |
| 2000 | Germany | Erik Zabel | Team Telekom | |
| 2001 | Germany | Erik Zabel | Team Telekom | |
| 2002 | Italy | Mario Cipollini | Acqua e Sapone–Cantina Tollo | |
| 2003 | Italy | Paolo Bettini | Quick-Step–Davitamon | |
| 2004 |  Spain | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | |
| 2005 | Italy | Alessandro Petacchi | Fassa Bortolo | |
| 2006 | Italy | Filippo Pozzato | Quick-Step–Innergetic | |
| 2007 | Spain | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | |
| 2008 | Switzerland | Fabian Cancellara | Team CSC | |
| 2009 | Great Britain | Mark Cavendish | Team Columbia–High Road | |
| 2010 | Spain | Óscar Freire | Rabobank | |
| 2011 |  Australia | Matthew Goss | HTC–Highroad | |
| 2012 | Australia | Simon Gerrans | GreenEDGE | |
| 2013 | Germany | Gerald Ciolek | MTN–Qhubeka | |
| 2014 |  Norway | Alexander Kristoff | Team Katusha | |
| 2015 | Germany | John Degenkolb | Team Giant–Alpecin | |
| 2016 | France | Arnaud Démare | FDJ | |
| 2017 |  Poland | Michał Kwiatkowski | Team Sky | |
| 2018 | Italy | Vincenzo Nibali | Bahrain–Merida | |
| 2019 | France | Julian Alaphilippe | Deceuninck–Quick-Step | |
| 2020 | Belgium | Wout Van Aert | Team Jumbo–Visma | |
| 2021 | Belgium | Jasper Stuyven | Trek–Segafredo | |
