Primavera course profile

The apex of the journey, the Passo del Turchino is by far the day's longest climb with a 24 kilometre ascent to the famous 180m long tunnel exit. With a peak located 151 kilometres from the finish line in Sanremo, Turchino has played little role in deciding the race's victor in recent years, but that was not always the case. Between 1908 and 1946 one out of three riders who led at the top of the Turchino won the race.

The first half of the 20th century was the time of the long solo escapes, particularly Henri Pelissier in 1912, Alfredo Binda twice and Fausto Coppi, the victor in 1946. Coppi 'Il Campionissimo' was the last rider to have crossed Turchino as a leader before ultimately raising his arms in victory in Sanremo. Since then, the Turchino has not played any decisive roll in the Primavera, but it remains one of the key points in the race, where the rhythm of the peloton is set for the final 143 kilometres.

The Capi are a 30-km succession of small, short and dry hills that begin 50 kilometres from home. The most famous and the most important is Cipressa, the penultimate obstacle of the Milan-Sanremo.

- Capo Mele: Located 52 kilometres from the finish line, a quick 65m ascent.

- Capo Cervo-Mimosa: Located 46 kilometres from the finish line.

- Capo Berta: Located 39 kilometres from the finish line. Until the introduction of Poggio in 1960, Capo Berta (130m ascent) was the decisive challenge of the race. This is often where a coast-line long escape is drawn back in...

- Cipressa: Located 21,6 kilometers from the finish line. The race to victory truly begins here for the favourites. It's rare to win Milan-Sanremo on the Cipressa, but it's very easy to lose it there. A rider's primary mission will be to avoid the crashes that are a frequent occurrence on the Cipressa. Double Milan-Sanremo victor and Eurosport commentator Sean Kelly delivers his analysis: "On the ascent, you have to be in the top 15-20 positions, in case of a fall. Afterwards, once you're on the descent, you must not drop out of the top 15 spots."

The most famous climb of Milan-San Remo, where year-after-year the victor has been determined, was added to the Primavera late in its career, at the beginning of the 1960s, in order to prevent sprinters from perennially winning the race. The irony is that nearly 50 years later the world's top sprinters are usually in command by the finish line in Sanremo. Recent years have seen Erik Zabel, Mario Cipollini, Oscar Freire, Paolo Bettini and Alessandro Petacchi being crowned the king of spring in Sanremo, reigniting the old debate as to whether the course is challenging enough...

One thing is sure, after 290 kilometres of riding every sprinter will have to grit their teeth in order to cross the Poggio unscathed and still have any hope for victory. The climb, narrow and sinuous, begins at the foot of the small descent from Capo Verde. It is 3,74 kilometers long and its steepest portion (8% gradient) comes in the second kilometre. The riders must be equally cautious in the 3.3 km descent, where Sean Kelly overtook Moreno Argentin in 1992 in order to secure his second victory.

Because of its shortness, the Poggio eliminates any sort of team tactics. "Here, it is every man for himself. Remember Eddy Merckx?" said Laurent Fignon, France's only Milan-Sanremo double-victor. "The Poggio goes so quickly that there is no possible tactic. You just have to be very strong and have endurance, because it is the longest classic. It's all a question of physical conditioning. During my two victories, I spent 250 kilometres in the tail of the peloton. You have to save everything for the Poggio."