2025 will be remembered as a special year for Milan-San Remo for (at least) two reasons: first and foremost, we saw the dramatic renaissance of a women's race, won in dominant fashion by Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx-Protime; and second, Mathieu van der Poel wrote another line in the sport's history books for himself and his team.
Milan-San Remo has always been an odd sort of race, celebrated largely for its interminable length and a finale on which one of only a small handful of eventualities may come about. Part of the Monument's unique charm is the tedium associated with the first 250 (two hundred and fifty!) kilometres, and many of them are not the most picturesque.
Once the peloton hits the Ligurian coast at about the halfway point – or the start for the revived women's race – it's a different story. The sun shines (sometimes), the fans appear in larger numbers, and the coastal roads provide a pretty spectacular, if repetitive, vista on which to feast our eyes while Silvan Dillier et al. drag the peloton ever closer to San Remo.
The action typically waits until the Cipressa and Poggio in the last 30 km, with the latter the most common launchpad starting 9 km from the line. This year both climbs saw action in both races, as the pro women sought to become the 'first', and the men attempted to define their seasons – or careers – against a truly stellar field.
While pre-race favourites triumphed twice over, both races overflowed with passion, determination and grit – all things that are hopefully evident in this gallery.
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