Milan-San Remo

Milan-San Remo is nicknamed La Primavera, meaning 'the spring' in Italian, because it is traditionally held in mid-to-late March and marks the unofficial start of the European cycling spring classics season. Its position on the calendar makes it the first of the five Monuments of cycling, the sport's most prestigious one-day races.

Milan-San Remo is the longest professional one-day race on the UCI WorldTour calendar at approximately 290 to 300 kilometers, depending on the exact route for a given year. This makes it significantly longer than other Monuments like the Tour of Flanders (around 260 km) or Paris-Roubaix (around 250-260 km), earning it the nickname 'the longest day.'

The Poggio is a short but steep climb located just a few kilometers from the finish line in Sanremo, and it is the last opportunity for attacking riders to distance the sprinters before the descent into the city. Many editions of the race are decided on the Poggio, where strong classics riders attempt to break away while sprinters' teams frantically chase to set up a bunch sprint on the Via Roma.

Eddy Merckx holds the record with seven victories in Milan-San Remo, winning in 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, and 1976. No other rider has come close to matching that total, cementing Merckx's legendary status in a race often considered the sprinters' Classic despite his all-rounder dominance.