The first Monument of the year, Milan-San Remo takes place on March 17, 2018. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) are among the big names taking part in the prestigious Italian race.

The UCI WorldTour race is the longest of the one day spring classics, providing a showcase of some of the best riders in the world over 291km.

The Milan-San Remo start list has been announced with the usual stellar cast of riders including defending champion Kwiatkowski, and other former winners such as Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), and Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).

Milan-San Remo route

Despite being known as the ‘Sprinters’ Classic’, the Italian race would not be as prestigious as it is were it a straightforward procession to a bunch sprint, and instead the race is characterised by its tortuous length, thrilling conclusion and delicate balancing act between sprinters and attackers.

The introduction of La Manie in 2008 gave the advantage to attacking puncheurs, as a difficult, significantly-positioned climb to gain an advantage over those hoping for a bunch sprint. It contributed to a handful of more selective editions – Fabian Cancellara won from a solo break in 2008 and Simon Gerrans from a group of three in 2010, and in both 2011 and 2013 a group of seven contested the finish, won by Matt Goss and Gerald Ciolek respectively.

When La Manie was dropped in 2014, the organiser’s initial intention had been to make the route even harder by replacing it with the Pompeiana in a slot far closer to the finish. But that climb was deemed unsafe due to the possibility of landslides, so that since 2014 the race has featured neither climb.

Now the dynamic of the route has shifted comprehensively back to the sprinters. After Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) won the sprint from a sizeable peloton in 2014, the finish was moved back to its traditional finishing straight of Via Roma, and another sprinter was triumphant in the form of John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) in 2015 and Arnaud Démare (FDJ) in 2016.

For the bold and the brave the Cipressa provides a potential launchpad for an attack at just over 20km from the finish, but for the more realistic, it’s the Poggio.

At 4km in length and 3.7 per cent in gradient, the climb is notorious for being relatively straightforward compared with most iconic climbs, but its fame derives from its position in the race.

On the back of around 280km of racing the riders are exhausted upon reaching it, and, peaking at 5.5km from the finish, any rider who goes over the top first with a gap has a chance of zooming down the descent and holding off the sprinters for victory on the Via Roma.

Milan-San Remo 2018: Teams

All 18 UCI WorldTour teams are eligible to ride the 2018 edition of Milan San Remo. Seven wild card teams have also been selected.

• Ag2r La Mondiale (Fra)
• Astana Pro Team (Kaz)
• Bahrain-Merida (Bah)
• BMC Racing Team (USA)
• Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger)
• FDJ (France)
• Lotto Soudal (Bel)
• Mitchelton-Scott (Aus)
• Movistar (Esp)
• Quick-Step Floors (Bel)
• Team Dimension Data (RSA)
• Team EF Education-First – Drapac P/B Cannondale (USA)
• Team Katusha Alpecin (Sui)
• Team Lotto NL-Jumbo (Ned)
• Team Sky (GBr)
• Team Sunweb (Ger)
• Trek-Segafredo (Ita)
• UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

Wildcard teams:

• Bardiani CSF (Ita)
• Confidis, Solutions Credits (Fra)
• Gazprom-Rusvelo (Rus)
• Israel Cycling Academy (Isr)
• Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini (Ita)
• Team Novo Nordisk (USA)
• Willier Triestina-Sella Italia (Ita)

Milan-San Remo 2018 start list

TEAM SKY

1 KWIATKOWSKI Michal
2 MOSCON Gianni
3 PUCCIO Salvatore
4 ROWE Luke
5 STANNARD Ian
6 VAN BAARLE Dylan
7 WISNIOWSKI Lukasz
D.S. TOSATTO Matteo

AG2R LA MONDIALE

11 GALLOPIN Tony
12 GOUGEARD Alexis
13 GAUTIER Cyril
14 NAESEN Oliver
15 VANDENBERGH Stijn
16 VENTURINI Clement
17 VUILLERMOZ Alexis
D.S. JANNEL Didier

ASTANA

21 SANCHEZ Luis Leon
22 KORSAETH Trus
23 GATTO Oscar
24 LUTSENKO Alexey
25 NIELSEN Magnus Cort
26 VALGREN ANDERSEN Michael
27 VILLELLA Davide
D.S. SHEFER Alexander

BAHRAIN – MERIDA

31 NIBALI Vincenzo
32 COLBRELLI Sonny
33 HAUSSLER Heinrich
34 KOREN Kristijan
35 MOHORIC Matej
36 PELLIZOTTI Franco
37 PIBERNIK LUKA
D.S. VOLPI Alberto

BARDIANI CSF

41 ANDREETA Simone
42 BARBIN Enrico
43 CARBONI Giovanni
44 CICCIONE Giulo
45 MAESTRI Mirco
46 ROTA Lorenzo
47 TONELLI Alessandro
D.S. REVERBERI Bruno

BMC RACING

51 VAN AVERMAET Greg
52 BETTIOL Alberto
53 CARUSO Damiano
54 DRUCKER Jean-Pierre
55 VENTOSO Fran
56 ROELANDTS Jurgen
57 SCHÄR Michael
D.S. SCIANDRI Maximilian

BORA – HANSGROHE

61 SAGAN Peter
62 BENEDETTI Cesare
63 BODNAR Maciej
64 BURGHARDT Marcus
65 OSS Daniel
66 SAGAN Juraj
67 SCHILLINGER Andreas
D.S. POITSCHKE Enrico

COFIDIS

71 LAPORTE Christophe
72 BONNAFOND Guillaume
73 CHETOUT Loic
74 LEMOINE Cyril
75 TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel
76 TURGIS Anthony
77 VAN LERBERGHE Bert
D.S. DAMIANI Roberto

GROUPAMA – FDJ

81 DÉMARE Arnaud
82 LADAGNOUS Matthieu
83 CIMOLAI Davide
84 GUARNIERI Jacopo
85 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas
86 LE GAC Olivier
87 DELAGE Mickaël
D.S. GUESDON Frederic

GAZPROM – RUSVELO

91 FIRSANOV Sergey
92 BOEV Igor
93 CHERKASOV Nikolai
94 KOBERNYAK Evegeny
95 KURIYANOV Stepan
96 NYCH Artem
97 VLASOV Aleksandr
D.S. KHAMIDULIN Renat

ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY

101 SBARAGLI Kristian
102 BOIVIN Guillaume
103 DEMPSTER Zakkari
104 JENSEN August
105 NEILANDS Krists
106 SAGIV Guy
107 VAN WINDEN Dennis
D.S. CARLSTROM Kjell

LOTTO SOUDAL

111 GREIPEL André
112 BAK YTTING Lars
113 DEBUSSCHERE Jens
114 DE BUYST Jasper
115 KEUKELEIRE Jens
116 MAES Nikolas
117 SIEBERG Marcel
D.S. FRISON Herman

MITCHELTON – SCOTT

121 TRENTIN Matteo
122 EWAN Caleb
123 IMPEY Daryl
124 KLUGE Roger
125 BEWLEY Sam
126 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher
127 TUFT Svein
D.S. WHITE Matthew

MOVISTAR

131 BENNATI Daniele
132 ANACONA Winner Andrew
133 BARBERO Carlos
134 BETANCUR Carlos
135 CARRETERO Héctor
136 DE LA PARTE Víctor
137 QUINTANA Dayer
D.S. JAIMERENA Jose Kuis

NIPPO – VINI FANTINI

141 SANTAROMITA Ivan
142 CANOLA Marco
143 CIMA Damiano
144 HATSUYAMA Sho
145 LOBATO Juan José
146 PONZI Simone
147 TIZZA Marco
D.S. MANZONI Mario

QUICK-STEP FLOORS

151 VIVIANI Elia
152 ALAPHILIPPE Julian
153 DECLERCQ Tim
154 GILBERT Philippe
155 KEISSE Iljo
156 RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel
157 SABATINI Fabio
D.S. BRAMATI Davide

DIMENSION DATA

161 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
162 CAVENDISH Mark
163 CUMMINGS Stephen
164 RENSHAW Mark
165 THOMSON Jay Robert
166 THWAITES Scott
167 VERMOTE Julien
D.S. ALDAG Rolf

TEAM EF EDUCATION FIRST – DRAPAC

171 MODOLO Sacha
172 BRESCHEL Matti
173 CLARKE Simon
174 DOCKER Mitchell
175 LANGEVELD Sebastian
176 MCLAY Daniel
177 PHINNEY Taylor
D.S. GUIDI Fabrizio

KATUSHA ALPECIN

181 BELKOV Maxim
182 GONÇALVES José
183 HAAS Nathan
184 KITTEL Marcel
185 POLITT Nils
186 SPILAK Simon
187 ZABEL Rick
D.S. COZZI Claudio

TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO

191 VAN POPPEL Danny
192 BATTAGLIN Enrico
193 BOUWMAN Koen
194 POWLESS Neilson
195 VAN EMDEN Jos
196 VAN HOECKE Gijs
197 WYNANTS Maarten
D.S. ENGELS Addy

TEAM NOVO NORDISK

201 BRAND Sam
202 HENTTALA Joonas
203 LOZANO RIBA David
204 PERON Andrea
205 PLANET Charles
206 POLI Umberto
207 KAMSTRA Brian
D.S. PODENZANA Massimo

TEAM SUNWEB

211 MATTHEWS Michael
212 ARNDT Nikias
213 CURVERS Roy
214 DUMOULIN Tom
215 KÄMNA Lennard
216 OOMEN Sam
217 THEUNS Edward
D.S. REEF Marc

TREK – SEGAFREDO

221 STUYVEN Jasper
222 DE KORT Koen
223 FELLINE Fabio
224 MULLEN Ryan
225 VAN POPPEL Boy
226 RAST Gregory
227 REIJNEN Kiel
D.S. BAFFI Adriano

UAE TEAM EMIRATES

231 KRISTOFF Alexander
232 BONO Matteo
233 BYSTRØM Sven Erik
234 CONSONNI Simone
235 GANNA Filippo
236 SWIFT Ben
237 ULISSI Diego
D.S. SCIREA Mario

WILIER TRIESTINA – SELLE ITALIA

241 MARECZKO Jakub
242 BERTAZZO Liam
243 BUSATO Matteo
244 COLEDAN Marco
245 MOSCA Jacopo
246 POZZATO Filippo
247 ZARDINI Edoardo
D.S. SCINTO Luca

Watching Milan-San Remo on TV

The race will be broadcast live on Eurosport 1 on Saturday, March 17, with highlights shown later that day and on Sunday, March 18.

Saturday March 17
1.30-4.30pm, Milan-San Remo LIVE, Eurosport 1
8.15-9.45pm, Milan-San Remo highlights, Eurosport 1
Sunday March 18
12.30-2.00am, Milan-San Remo highlights, Eurosport 2

Elsewhere in the world, you could catch it live on Sporza (Dutch) and RTBF (French); Italy’s Rai Sport 2 and SBS in Australia will also show footage.

Milan-San Remo 2017 race

Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) took a dramatic victory in the 2017 edition of Milan-San Remo.

At the end of a generally uneventful 108th running of the race, Kwiatkowski was one of only two men (along with Julian Alaphilippe of Quick-Step Floors) who were able to respond to a surprise attack on the Poggio by world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe).

>>> This is how close Peter Sagan was to beating Michal Kwiatkowski at Milan-San Remo

The trio had a gap of around 10 seconds by the top of the climb, which they were able to double by the bottom of the descent thanks to Sagan’s smooth and fast descending style.

By the time they entered the final kilometre it was clear that the winner would come from these three riders, but the best sprinter, among them – Sagan – was in a poor position on the front.

Nonetheless the Slovak was confident enough to lead the sprint out, and although it looked for a while as if he would be able to hold on to win the longest race in the calendar, Kwiatkowski was able to come around the outside to win by less than half a wheel, with Alaphilippe in third.

The peloton was led in by Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin), crossing the line five seconds behind the leading riders.

Milan-San Remo : Recent winners

2017: Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky
2016: Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ
2015: John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin
2014: Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha
2013: Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka
2012: Simon Gerrans (Aus) GreenEdge
2011: Matt Goss (Aus) HTC-Highroad
2010: Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
2009: Mark Cavendish (GBr) Columbia-Highroad
2008: Fabian Cancellara (Sui) CSC
2007: Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank

Previous editions: 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009