Milano-Sanremo 2025

March 22, 2025 La Primavera has arrived, two days after the Vernal Equinox. It's the first Monument of the year and also likely the longest bike ride most professional cyclists do all season, and by far the longest race. The 289KM race starts in Pavia and takes the riders across the Po plain to the Passo Del Turchino. Once over the Turchino, the races plunges down to the seaside in Voltri where they start their way West along the Via Aurelia. The difficulties come with the tre Capi starting around 230KM into the race. The pièce de résistance comes with the climbs of the Cipressa and finally the Poggio Di Sanremo before a daredevil descent to the finish on the Via Roma in Sanremo. All kinds of riders have won the race in the past from GC riders to pure sprinters which makes the result difficult to predict and gives way to the moniker, the easiest race to finish but the hardest race to win. The neutral roll-out left the old center in Pavia under rain. Alessandro Verre of Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Tommaso Nencini of Solution Tech-Vini Fantini, and Martin Marcellusi of VF-Group Bardiani CSF-Faizanè were the first riders to get a gap on the peloton after the flag dropped at KM0. Four more riders got clear including Mathis Le Berre of Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Baptiste Veistroffer of Lotto, Mark Stewart of Solution Tech-Vini Fantini, and Filippo Turconi of VF-Group Bardiani CSF-Faizanè. The peloton shut down with 265KM to go. The two groups joined forces and the gap went quickly out to 3 minutes. Solution Tech-Vini Fantini added a third man to the group with Kristian Sbaragli when he made contact with the front at 254KM to go. Their maximum gap got the 5 minutes 30 seconds but Silvan Dillier of Alpecin-Deceuninck got to the front of the bunch and pegged the break at 3 minute 30 seconds. Dillier continued to ride on the front of the peloton through Campo Ligure, 8KM from the top of the Passo Del Turchino, 4 minutes behind the break. A number of other teams came to the front near the top which pushed the pace up in the peloton. The bunch went over the Passo Del Turchino, through the tunnel, 3 minutes after the leaders. Lidl-Trek took over on the descent and hit the Ligurian coast in dry conditions under brightening skies. Dillier took the reigns back on the flat road to continue his work on the front. None of the main teams offered to put a rider up with Dillier in the chase, leaving him to work alone. Tension started to build with 70KM to go as Jayco AlUla, Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe and Q36.5 brought their leaders to the front. Dillier finally pulled off the front for a job well done, leading the peloton completely by himself for over 190KM. The bunch was exceptionally active with 64KM to go as they approached the Capo Mele. The gap went down from 4 minutes to just 2 minutes 10 seconds by the time peloton started the downhill into Andora. Defending champion Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck had to stop for a bike change while Laurence Pithie of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe and Neilson Powless of EF-Education EasyPost came down in a crash on the Capo Mele but they all made it back by the top of the Capo Cervo. The break blew apart on the Capo Berta. Marcellusi went over the top alone but the peloton were just 1 minute 10 seconds behind. The speed never came down after the Capo Berta. Every team wanted to be on the front row but the road is only so wide so the fight was fierce. The sole job of many riders was to position their leaders at or near the front for the Cipressa which pushed the speed consistently to 60KM/HR. Marcellusi was caught right at the bottom of the Cipressa as EF-Education EasyPost, Ineos, and Alpecin-Deceuninck were best positioned. UAE-XRG were scattered throughout the first 50 wheels but Tim Wellens got the front to push the pace for Tadej Pogačar. Wellens pulled off with 4KM still to climb, leaving just Jhonatan Narváez in front of Pogačar. Narváez did 1KM as fast as he could manage and with 24.5KM to go and 3KM to the top of the Cipressa, Pogačar attacked. Only Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck, Filippo Ganna of Ineos, and Romain Grégoire of Groupama-FDJ followed and a large gap opened behind them. Grégoire was dropped about one kilometer later. Ganna yo-yo'ed on and off but the three leaders went over the top together with 32 seconds a chase group of just 20 riders. The gap ballooned to 50 seconds by the bottom and the chased group started to look around to gather resources for a chase. Van der Poel, Ganna, and Pogačar each took pulls and with a tailwind down to the Poggio, they would not be caught. Van der Poel led through the right turn on to the Poggio and as soon as the road went up, Pogačar attacked. Van der Poel stuck to his wheel while Ganna drifted. Pogačar wanted a turn from Van der Poel which allowed Ganna to come back but Pogačar went again. It was start stop with Pogačar sprinting at every opportunity. With 400M to the top, Van der Poel put in an attack of his own but Pogačar clawed his way back. The pair took the sharp left turn together to start the descent with Ganna about 12 seconds behind. Van der Poel and Pogačar hit the flat road with 2KM to go with Ganna time trialing his way just 6 seconds behind. Two became three with 700M left. Van der Poel led with Ganna then Pogačar behind. Ganna and Pogačar each left a sprinters gap between themselves and Van der Poel which gave Van der Poel a free 20 meters advantage. He went first with 280M to go and got a gap on Ganna. Van der Poel held his power to the line to become the first rider to win multiple editions since 2010. Ganna crossed the line next with Pogačar finishing in third for a second year in a row. Michael Matthews of Jayco AlUla led the peloton in for fourth, 43 seconds down on the winner.