The Classica, or Classicissima, as the historic Milano-Sanremo race is called, starts this year from Pavia (for the second time since the 1965 edition) on 16 March. The most important one-day cycling race in Italy, it is also the longest, as well as one of the oldest, now in its 115th edition. The first of the Monuments of the season, which are the five most prestigious road cycling races, 25 teams of seven runners each will compete.

ROUTE
288 kilometres of road, entering Liguria from Rossiglione via the iconic Passo del Turchino at 10.8 km, with a difference in altitude of 582 metres and an average gradient of 5.4%, and then continues west along the Aurelia, passing through Varezza, Finale Ligure, Albenga and Alassio. In San Lorenzo al Mare, after the classic sequence of Capi peaks (Mele, Cervo and Berta) overlooking the sea, there are the two climbs included in recent decades: Cipressa (1982) and Poggio di Sanremo (1960). After the always exciting final rush, the finish line will be as per tradition in Sanremo, in Via Roma, where in 2023 Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel triumphed in a breakaway solo win.

CURIOSITIES
The first Milano-Sanremo was held on 14 April 1907, where the Frenchman Lucien Petit-Breton triumphed. The record holder for victories is Eddy Merckx, with 7 wins, while the Italian record holder is Costante Girardengo, with 6 victories. Girardengo also holds a record of his own, with 10 consecutive podiums between 1917 and 1926 (5 on the highest step, 3 on the second and 2 on the third).