March 21, 2026
What better way to celebrate the first full day of Spring than with La Primavera itself, Milano-Sanremo. La Classicissima is the first Monument of the year and is also the longest by quite some margin. 2026 will be the 117th edition of the great race which will cover a whopping 298KM, plus a few extra through the neutral zone, for what will be close to seven hours of bike racing. When the bunch rolls out of Pavia, they will have kilometer after kilometer of flat roads across the Po plain always heading in a South by South West direction. The riders will get their first taste of elevation gain on the Passo del Turchino which tops out almost exactly at half distance. The climb is long but only averages about 4% with the top at around 550M above sea level. A fast descent into the town of Mele will bring the race to the Ligurian coast where they will twist and turn along the cliffs on the Via Aurelia. The finale begins with about 60KM to go through the town of Alassio at the start of the Tre Capi. The succession of climbs (Mele, Cervo, Berta) and the accumulated distance will sting the legs and one or two pre-race contenders will start to struggle here. The real fight will come with 30KM to go leading into the Cipressa, a 6KM climb at around 4%. After the descent, there will be about 10KM along the coast road before the narrow right turn onto the 3KM Poggio di Sanremo. There will be just 6KM from the top to the finish on the Via Roma but the riders will first have to negotiate a hair-raising descent off the Poggio. It's a race where the smallest mistakes get amplified. A difference of just a few positions into the Cipressa and Poggio could be the determining factor between being in contention for the win and sprinting in a group for the minor places.
Highlighted Riders
Mathieu van der Poel, Jasper Philipsen, Tadej Pogačar, Isaac del Toro, Filippo Ganna, Tobias Lund Andresen, Romain Grégoire, Mads Pedersen, Biniam Girmay, Tom Pidcock, Laurence Pithie, Paul Magnier, Wout van Aert, Christophe Laporte
Race Summary
Sunshine, green fields, and new leaves, it's Spring time in Italy. Stefano Allocchio waived the flag and immediately a reasonably large group got away with over ten riders. Just 3KM into the race however, the lead vehicle took the wrong turn off course through a roundabout and the break dutifully followed. Teams heavily represented were Polti-VisitMalta, NovoNordisk, and Bardiani CSF 7 Saber. Teammates of those riders countered and new a break formed with a similar composition. Alpecin-Premier Tech and UAE-XRG shut down the front of the peloton once a group of nine got away and the move was allowed to establish a gap. The break consisted of Lorenzo Milesi and Manlio Moro of Movistar, Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi of Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, Andrea Peron and David Lozano of NovNordisk, Alexy Faure Prost of Picnic-PostNL, and Dario Igor Belletta and Mirco Maestri of Polti-VisitMalta.
With 280KM to go, the familiar face of Silvan Dillier of Alpecin-Premier Tech went to the front of the peloton and started the controlling work to manage the 4 minute gap to the break. As the riders crossed the Po over the Ponte Della Gerola, they reached the end of the first hour after 46.5KM of racing. Cameras didn't pick it up, but reports were confirmed that Jan Christen of UAE-XRG and Orluis Aular of Movistar both crashed and were forced to abandon which put a big dent into the plans of each team. Dillier continued on the front and brought the gap down below 3 minutes. On a few occasions, riders dropped the wheels behind and gaps formed. Dillier remained unphased and efforts had to be made to stitch the peloton back together.
The second hour was ridden slightly slower at 45.5KM/HR but the gap was still coming down. With 205KM to go, the nine leaders had 2 minutes 40 seconds on the bunch that were still being led by Dillier. The bunch arrived at the base of the Passo del Turchino but it was almost an imperceptible increase in gradient. The road slowly started to tip up to around 4% through Rossiglione along the banks of the Stura di Ovada. 3KM from the top, Ineos, Bahrain Victorious, and UAE-XRG came to the front to be present for positioning on the descent. The climb was quick but not rapid and the break was able to crest the Turchino at 148KM to go with 2 minutes 20 seconds.
The break arrived on the coast road with 137KM to go after having lost another 10 seconds of their gap on the descent. The Ligurian Sea was calm as it gently lapped onto shore over the riders' left shoulders. The bunch took the opportunity to regroup and take a collective nature break. By the time they got rolling again, the gap had grown to 3 minutes 30 seconds but Dillier was back at work on the front. The nine leaders snapped into a tight double paceline and made Dillier click the gears down a sprocket and increase his effort. As strong as Dillier was, one man is not a match for nine, especially after 180KM of racing. With 100KM to go through the streets of Savona, the Dillier led peloton had slipped to 5 minutes 30 seconds and the question became, who would take over when Dillier finally pulled off?
The answer came with 81.5KM to go when UAE-XRG added Domen Novak to start pulling back nearly 7 minute gap. Dillier filtered down through the peloton after the incredible feat of riding on the front of the peloton for 198KM. Novak's fresh legs had an impact and he was able to bring the gap down almost 90 seconds at 67KM to go. Tension slowly increased at this point with around 17KM to go to the Capo Mele. Pinarello Q36.5, Lotto Intermarché, and Tudor Pro Cycling emerged in color order to take up a spot at the front of the peloton. At 64KM to go, there was a nasty crash right near the front as Ineos were trying to move up. Three of their riders came down including Connor Swift, Ben Turner, and previous winner Michał Kwiatkowski. Pressure only went up from that point and any space that was available on the road was taken up and defended with elbows.
Crowds were building through Alassio, as was the speed. When the bunch reached Laigueglia and the base of the Capo Mele with 53.5KM to go, the break were down to seven riders with the peloton at 4 minutes. UAE-XRG took on the pace making up the Capo Mele and held that position coming into the Capo Cervo. Ineos made a nice recovery after the crash and lined up with six riders on the right side of the road. The bunch went over the top, 2 minutes 25 seconds after the break with just the Capo Berta remaining before the Cipressa.
The break imploded on the Capo Berta and only three riders made it to the top together. In the peloton, it was still UAE-XRG and Ineos at the front with Alpecin-Premier Tech ever-present behind UAE-XRG. The speed was quick over the Capo Berta but we did not get a UAE-XRG acceleration like some had predicted. The gap was under 1 minute to Milesi, Maestri, and Belletta with the fight heating up. At 32.5KM to go, a crash brought down some of the biggest favorites including Wout van Aert, Biniam Girmay, and Tadej Pogačar. The colors at the front completely changed to the red of Uno-X Mobility, purple of Jayco AlUla, and blue of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe. With just 2KM to the Cipressa, we got confirmation that Mathieu van der Poel did not crash but he was stuck in the first group at 10 seconds. Pogačar was at 35 seconds and van Aert even further back at 1 minute after having to wait for a new bike from the team car.
Van der Poel made it into the peloton after Jasper Philipsen towed him back just in time before the turn on to the Cipressa. The last three intrepid breakaway riders were caught immediately as it was Ineos who led on with the Pogačar group at 15 seconds and closing. The front of the group was at a complete stand-off and Pogačar was able to not only able to get back on, but cut his way through the entire peloton and arrive at the front still with 4.5KM to the top with the help of Brandon McNulty. McNulty didn't miss a beat and went to the front to set the highest pace he could manage until 3KM to go when Isaac del Toro hit the front and ramped the pace to another level. At this point, Pogačar was sitting second wheel with Tom Pidcock of Pinarello Q36.5, Filippo Ganna of Ineos, van der Poel, and Tobias Lund Andresen of Decathlon CMA CGM all in a line.
Pogačar launched at 2.6KM from the top and Pidcock and van der Poel were ready and a gap formed to the rest of the field behind. Lidl-Trek set up a chase with Giulio Ciccone, Mads Pedersen and one other still in their ranks. Pogačar led until 1KM from the top when he turned around and looked for help. Pidcock and van der Poel obliged. After a turn from van der Poel, Pogačar attacked to lead the group over the top. Pidcock and van der Poel had him matched and the three crested with a 25 second advantage over the peloton.
Pogačar led down the descent and the trio arrived on the Via Aurelia with 18KM to go and a 30 second gap back to three teams chasing in the form of Lidl-Trek, Bahrain Victorious, and Decathlon CMA CGM. Visma-Lease a Bike also started to contribute as van Aert arrived back in the first chase group which numbered around 50 riders. Pogačar, Pidcock, and van der Poel swapped turns along the coast road but Lidl-Trek were rolling behind and had cut the gap to 22 seconds with 2KM to the base of Poggio. There was a lot of belief in the peloton and the gap was down to just 10 seconds when van der Poel took the right turn onto the Poggio with 9KM to go.
After 200M on the climbing, Pogačar took over and set an infernal pace. Van der Poel dropped from the wheel and slipped backwards and out of the slipstream. Pidcock looked good however and was glued to the wheel of the battered and bruised World Champion. Pogačar made a big acceleration with 1,500M to climb but couldn't shake Pidcock. The pair went over the top together with 12 seconds on van der Poel and just a few more on the chase of around 30 riders.
Pidcock took turns on the downhill as they flew down through the tight corners and passed the green houses that lined the descent. Pogačar took over and put some pressure on the Brit but they arrived at the bottom together and turned onto the Via Roma at 2.3KM to go with 20 seconds on the chase which had absorbed van der Poel. Pogačar led through 1KM to go but the peloton was coming. The road straightened with 600M to go and Pogačar was still leading. Van Aert had chipped off the front and rounded the corner but was still 150M behind. Pogačar wound up the speed and Pidcock tried to bait him into sprinting early but Pogačar waited and launched his sprint from the right side of the road along the barriers just inside 200M to go. Pidcock was in the slipstream until 40M to go when he came around, and they were side by side as they threw for the line. In the end, it was half a wheel that made the difference and Pogačar knew that he had won when he looked across at Pidcock. He let out a yell that released all of his frustrations from previous Sanremo disappointments and rejoiced with teammates and family when finally came to a stop. Pogačar was covered in road rash, his kit was in tatters, but his face showed only jubilation and relief. Pidcock was gracious in defeat and gave a handshake and a pat on the back to the victor. In the race for third, van Aert had come within 50M of reaching Pogačar and Pidcock but was just too late. He crossed the line 4 seconds later for third place just as the bunch were catching him. It was Mads Pedersen that won the bunch sprint for fourth place with Corbin Strong of NSN Cycling in for fifth.
The win for Pogačar is a landmark moment in his career. He now owns trophies in four out of the five Monuments with just the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix yet to be vanquished.