Since mid-February, anyone who places an order with us at Mantel receives the Mantel Spring Classics Calendar as well. Perfect if you don’t want to miss out on the spring classics. Don’t have a calendar yet? Place an online order (you can always do with another set of tyres) and get yours in no time. We give you an update a week in advance of each of the 12 spring classics listed on the World-Tour calendar, explaining why you should watch the race and taking a look at the history of the event. The third spring classic of the season takes place on the 18th of March this year, and it’s a good one: Milan-San Remo.
Milan-San Remo is the first major classic in the cycling season. It is considered the annual kick off to the Italian cycling spring, which is why it has earned the nickname “La Primavera”.
The first official edition was on the 14th of April 1907. The course is 298 kilometres long, making it the longest of all the classics. The fastest edition was in 1990.
The all-rounder Gianni Bugno won in a record breaking 6 hours, 25 minutes, and 6 seconds, averaging 45.8 kilometres per hour. The slowest edition was that of 1910, taking 12 hours and 24 minutes.
Podium
Arnaud Démare, French sprinter riding for Team FDJ, won in 2016. He finished ahead of Ben Swift (Sky) and Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Soudal).
At the top of the Poggio, just 6 kilometres from the line, Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) manages to break away. Nibali tries to catch up on the descends into San Remo.
In Kwiatkowski’s wake: Cancellara, Sagan, Nibali. The back of the peloton clearly shows you the effect of 290 kilometres of racing, as riders are getting dropped in packs.
Démare runs into a protective buffer and is seemingly out of it.
3 kilometres from the line, and the riders are looking at each other to close the gap to Kwiatkowski.
Eventually the Bear from Bern, Cancellara, has had enough and he thunders past the parked Polish rider in the streets of San Remo.
For about a second, all seems calm again, but then Boasson Hagen jumps away with Greg van Avermaet on his wheel.
The final kilometre is a true sprint sensation. The final curve before the finish: a crash.
Bouhanni looks to be in a perfect spot riding second, but he drops out with gear issues.
Arnaud Démare takes advantage of the chaos, and gets to through his hands up in celebration when he takes the line first.
The Course
The highest point is reached halfway at the Passo del Turchino (532 m). The course between Milan and San Remo has been augmented with several climbs over the years.
The aim of these changes was to make the race more dynamic (not every race has to end in a sprint, according to the organisers).
One of these climbs is the Cipressa, the second to last climb in the race and usually where the men are separated from the boys.
The climb isn’t dramatically steep. The fact that the riders have covered 270 kilometres at this point is what makes this a killer for some.
The same goes for the final climb up the Poggio, the “balcony” of San Remo. Riders who don’t wish to rely on their sprint need to break away here and gain some metres on the pack.
The Grand Finale takes place on the Via Rome. Possibly the most beautiful road for a spectacular ending to a race to the Italian Riviera.
Why you Should Watch
The race is so long that it has to be changed on the way sometimes, for instance because of landslides.
Besides geological influences, the weather also plays a key role.
La Primavera stands for spring, but the 2013 edition had to be brought to a halt after just 117 km because of relentless snowfall.
Last year, Arnaud Démare crashed quite badly at the start of the Cipressa.
It was on that same Cipressa that he managed to make his way back to the peloton, allegedly by holding on to a bottle from a team car just a little longer.
As is the way with these things, everyone from the owner of a hair salon at the finish line to a select group of former Italian winners had an opinion on the matter.
Ultimately though, it’s the unusual bunch of sprinters hashing it out on the Via Rome each year that makes Milan-San Remo great.
While we’re still in winter’s grip, Mark Cavendish has already announced Milan-San Remo to be one of his focus races for this year.
Arnaud Démare has also announced his attendance and will do everything he can to defend his title.
Milan-San Remo: Previous Winners
Scroll through the list of winners at Milan-San Remo, and you get a taste of the impressive history of this Italian monument.
The years after the second world war has multiple listings of Fausto Coppi.
Before that: 11 podium finishes (of which 6 on the top tier) for Signor Costante Girardengo.
Eddy Merckx is the absolute record holder with no less than 7 victories.
Footage of Milan-San Remo 2016
Want to refresh your memory on the 2016 edition of Milan-San Remo? Have a look at last year’s summary.
Need a proper dose of racing? Have a look at the video below, which shows the last two hours of racing from last year’s edition.
All the Spring Classics on the Calendar?
Can’t wait for the next classic, or want to have a look back at the Omloop het Nieuwsblad? Below is a list of all the classics on our calendar! List these under your bookmarks, as we’ll regularly update them!
- 25 February – Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
- 4 March – Strade Bianche
- 18 March – Milaan-San Remo
- 22 March – Dwars door Vlaanderen
- 24 March – E3 Harelbeke
- 26 March – Gent-Wevelgem
- 2 April – Tour of Flanders
- 9 April – Paris-Roubaix
- 16 April – Amstel Gold Race
- 19 April – La Flèche Wallonne
- 23 April – Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- 1 May – Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop
Het bericht Milan-San Remo – Spring Classics verscheen eerst op Mantel.
