There’s no denying that the almost 300-kilometre distance of Milan-Sanremo is part of its intrigue. La Classicissima, as it has become known, has built an identity of being the longest race on the WorldTour calendar – a test of endurance and mental strength. Despite this, however, Sanremo is also said to be the ‘easiest Monument to finish’ out of the five, which is a strange paradox. How could a race of such length ever be classed as ‘easy’? The reason is that for the first 250km, nothing really happens.
Television viewers know not to tune in until the last hour of racing – unless they want to watch pee breaks, sandwich eating, or the peloton cruising along the Italian Riviera – because that’s when the climbs hit. Coming one after another in quick succession, the Cipressa and then the Poggio are where the magic of Sanremo happens, all in the final 30 kilometres. This is where the fireworks are set off, when crucial attacks are made, when the roads decide who will write themselves into the history books as a Milan-Sanremo winner.
There’s an argument as to whether the 200 plus kilometres leading up to that point are really necessary. On the one hand, having such a long approach to the duo of climbs fatigues some riders and tests who can maintain focus and concentration over what ends up being over six hours of bike racing by the time it concludes. For the sport’s purists, it’s also a nod to tradition, keeping some elements of professional cycling’s history present in the modern era of the sport. On the other hand, if there’s no one really watching the race, are there any benefits to it actually being on? After all, money comes into the sport from sponsors, who want eyes on their logos and from television viewership, of which there isn’t much of for the majority of Milan-Sanremo. When it comes to the dynamic of the race itself, if there wasn’t five hours of racing before things really kicked off and instead there were just three, for example, would this really change the final outcome at all?
As soon as it was confirmed that the women’s event would be introduced to the calendar in 2025, there were questions regarding whether the race distance would match that of the men’s. Once organisers RCS announced the route, however, they confirmed that while the women’s peloton would take on the same finale as the men do, they would race a total distance of just 156-kilometres, meaning Sanremo Women is not even the longest event on the current Women’s WorldTour calendar. Is this a bad thing?
“I think 160-kilometres is a good distance. We are really happy that we have Sanremo in the calendar now,” pre-race favourite and Trofeo Binda winner Elisa Balsamo stated in her press conference a few days before Sanremo Women. “It is really hard for the organisation to close all the roads and I don't care about 20 or 30 kilometres more because the big show is going to be at the end. There will be a fight for the breakaway at the start but I think everyone will wait until the Capo Berta, the Cipressa and the Poggio anyway.”
The Lidl-Trek rider makes some important points in her answer. Having a shorter total race distance means that the fight for the breakaway is more worthwhile – there’s a more of a chance it could survive until the finish without almost 300-kilometres to grapple with ahead. We saw the breakaway being given an unprecedented gap at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad earlier this year which helped Lotte Claes of to the biggest win of her career. This will give riders confidence that, although it may be slim, there is a chance of breakaway survival to the finish. Balsamo herself was doubtful of this scenario, but it’s worth noting that none of the riders in the peloton will have raced this course before, so no one knows what to expect.
“There will be a breakaway, but all the peloton will work together to make sure they don’t get 10 minutes and then everyone will fight on the climbs,” Balsamo stated. “I'm quite sure that at least five or six teams will keep the break close because it is such an important race and everyone wants to fight for the win.”
Regardless of whether the breakaway eventually survives or not, however, the very possibility of it provides Sanremo Women with something that the men’s race doesn't have: the prospect of the unknown. We all know that the early break will come back in the men’s race, we all know that UAE Team Emirates plan to make it as hard as possible on the Cipressa to give Tadej Pogačar the chance to win and drop the sprinters. In the women’s event, however, there’s so many questions that have to be answered. Both races may share the finale, but the dynamics of the men’s and women’s editions of Milan-Sanremo are going to be radically different, and there’s race one that might well have you glued to your screen from the flag drop.
