The longest Monument of the year schedules its 117th edition this Saturday.
One day after the spring equinox, Pavia welcomes the World Tour peloton for the start of the season’s first Monument, Milano-Sanremo, a race which our team won on three occasions: 2003, 2006, and 2019.
The route, a massive 298 kilometers in length, once again has as its main attraction the climbs of Cipressa (5.6km, 4.1%) and Poggio (3.7km, 3.7%). Coming in the last 30 kilometers of the race, these two legendary hills are the places where those hoping to avoid a bunch sprint will make their moves in order to reduce the size of the peloton. The summit of the Poggio - which has been part of the course since the ‘60s - comes less than six kilometers from the finish on the emblematic Via Roma, meaning the chasers won’t have an easy task to make it back to the front, especially as the descent is a fast and technical one, favouring the attackers.
In 2021, Jasper Stuyven took a flyer in the final three kilometers and held off a select group to claim a memorable victory in “La Primavera”. The experienced Belgian will make his 29th Monument appearance on Saturday, together with a strong Soudal Quick-Step team that will include also Paul Magnier - one of last season’s best sprinters - Casper Pedersen, Pepijn Reinderink, Laurenz Rex, Maximilian Schachmann, and Fabio Van den Bossche.
We’re excited to be at the start of Milano-Sanremo this weekend!
“It’s the first Monument of the year and the start of one of the season’s best months. It’s also a race where anything can happen and so many scenarios are possible. The squad we are taking there is a strong one and very motivated to fight for a good result on the Via Roma. Of course, we know it’s not going to be easy - it never is in a Monument race - but we are more than ready to show the Wolfpack spirit and give our best on Saturday”, said sports director Davide Bramati.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
