It's been several years in the making but the women's Milan-San Remo is finally back! The race was last held in the early 2000s as the Primavera Rosa – more on that in a moment – but this Saturday, March 22, the women's peloton heads to the Mediterranean coast for the first "Milano-Sanremo Donne", which finishes a couple hours before the men's race.
Speaking of the men's race, you'll be able to find Dane Cash's preview on Escape shortly, but that's not what we're here for today. It's time to get up to speed on the women's race.
The favourites
We'll break down the contenders more thoroughly below, but as a sneak-peek, here are our top favourites for Saturday's race.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Lotte Kopecky, Elisa Balsamo, Lorena Wiebes
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Elisa Longo Borghini, Marianne Vos, Demi Vollering
⭐⭐⭐: Puck Pieterse, Chloe Dygert, Ally Wollaston
⭐⭐: Kasia Niewiadoma, Cat Ferguson, Silvia Persico
⭐: Alex Manly, Blanka Vas, Liane Lippert, Letizia Paternoster, Kristen Faulkner
The course
As a rule we try to avoid framing women's racing in terms of its male equivalent – women's racing should stand on its own. But in the case of the inaugural Milano-Sanremo Donne, some amount of comparison is worthwhile, using a known quantity to help get our bearings ahead of a "new" race.
So – where the men's Milan-San Remo is famous for its length – almost 300 km in all – the women's race isn't so extreme. In fact, at 156 km, it's actually shorter than the Tour of Flanders (168.8 km this year). And as you'll see in the profile below, it's not the hardest race on paper, either, with just over 1,300 metres of climbing.
Where the men's race starts with a lengthy southbound jaunt from Milan to the Mediterranean coast, the women's race is a purely coastal affair. It kicks off in Genova and runs right down the coast all the way to San Remo.
But like the men's race, the women's MSR is all about a series of climbs in the final hour or so of racing. The Capo Mele kicks things off, peaking 51.5 km from the finish, followed by the Capo Cerva (46.4 km) and then the Capo Berta (38.8 km). In reality though, these three climbs are just a warm-up for the two that really matter: the Cipressa and the Poggio.
The Cipressa is the longest climb of the day, spanning 5.6 km at an average grade of 4.1%, and topping out 21.6 km from the line. The run-in to the climb will be fast and furious, as teams try to make sure their leaders are well positioned. And then there's the Poggio. By the numbers it's easier than the Cipressa – 3.7 km at 3.7% average – but given it's just 5.5 km from the top to the finish in San Remo, this is likely to be the most important climb of the race.
Profiles for the Cipressa (left) and Poggio (right).
It's not just the climb of the Poggio that's important. As Georgie Howe wrote in the Wheel Talk Newsletter this week, the serpentine descent could also be decisive. It's 3.3 km of tight, technical descending to get back down to the coast, before a couple kilometres of flat road to the finish. A rider who's able to open a gap on the descent could well turn that into victory.
How it might play out
How's the race going to be won? Who knows! But that's exciting, right?
To help give us some context, let's look back at the precursor to this weekend's event: the Primavera Rosa. Running for seven editions between 1999 and 2005, this race followed the last 120 km or so of the men's race, including the Cipressa + Poggio finale. And while the women's peloton is significantly stronger and more professional than it was 20 years ago, it's worthwhile looking at how those seven editions of the Primavera Rosa were decided, to give us a sense of what we might be able to expect this weekend:
- 1999: Sara Felloni won a reduced bunch sprint.
- 2000: Diana Ziliute won a reduced bunch sprint.
- 2001: Susanne Ljungskog won solo, after attacking 200 metres from the top of the Poggio.
- 2002: Mirjam Melchers won a reduced bunch sprint.
- 2003: Zulfiya Zabirova won solo after getting away on the Cipressa.
- 2004: Zulfiya Zabirova again won solo, getting away on the Cipressa again.
- 2005: Trixi Worrack won solo, just a head of the bunch, after riding everyone off her wheel while trying to lead out a teammate.
(Shout-out to Cyclingnews' wonderful Autobus archives for the links above.)
So that's three reduced bunch sprints and four solo winners. What can we learn from this? Well, much like in the men's race, the late climbs but flat finish create a fascinating tension: is this a race for the sprinters, or for the climbers? The answer is probably "both", depending on how it's raced, and how the main favourites play their cards.
It could be that a solo rider (or small group) gets away on the Cipressa or the Poggio – uphill or downhill. Many riders will certainly be trying. It's equally likely that the race ends in a reduced bunch sprint on the Via Roma, either because no one was able to get away, or because they did and were caught on the run-in the finish.
So who are the riders we can expect to feature? I'm so glad you asked.
Storylines and contenders
You've probably got some questions about Saturday's race. Let's try to answer some, shall we?
Where can I find the startlist?
Here you go.
Is there a top favourite?
Probably not. You can see from the number of names we mentioned up top that there's a whole stack of riders who could be in with a shot of victory. But there's a handful of riders that probably have a better shot than most.
Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) comes in having just won her third edition of Trofeo Alfredo Binda so she deserves a mention right off the bat. Binda is a harder and hillier race than Milan-San Remo, so if Balsamo is climbing well enough to get over the climbs there and still be in position to win the sprint, it's hard to see her getting distanced over the Cipressa and Poggio.
As Abby Mickey noted in her great Binda breakdown, though, Balsamo will probably want a bit more support in the Milan-San Remo finale than she had last weekend, particularly if some riders do manage to get away on the last two climbs and need to be pulled back.
Speaking of sprinters who climb well, I don't think anyone would be shocked if Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) won on Saturday. Both here on the site and on the Wheel Talk podcast we've been saying for years that Wiebes is a much better climber than people tend to give her credit for (top 20 on Jebel Hafeet at the UAE Tour is just one recent data point) and so it'll take something pretty special to distance her on the Cipressa and Poggio. If it does come down to a reduced bunch kick, it'd be great to see Wiebes vs Balsamo.
And we mustn't forget Wiebes's teammate: a certain Lotte Kopecky, the reigning world champion. Milan-San Remo is the Belgian's first race of the year but even with no racing in her legs, she's still one of the big favourites for the win. She's the sort of rider that can win it in a bunch of different ways. She could get away in a small group late, she could possibly even get away on her own (although maybe she'd like the Cipressa and Poggio to be a bit steeper?) and she could certainly win it from a bunch kick.
Which prompts the question: how will SD Worx-Protime play their cards on Saturday, with both Wiebes and Kopecky in the mix? My guess: Kopecky to follow any moves from the favourites and make a late attack herself, while Wiebes will wait behind for the race to come back together for a bunch kick. If both Wiebes and Kopecky are both there are the finish? Wiebes should get the nod, but stranger things have happened.
Oh and let's not forget that the Dutch team has Blanka Vas too – the 23-year-old Hungarian was second at Binda behind Balsamo. She climbs well, sprints really well, and gives SD Worx-Protime a third great card to play. In short, however SD Worx-Protime play it, they have a great shot of winning.
What do we think of Marianne Vos's chances?
Very good. She only started her season at Binda last weekend, but was already showing great signs. She was in a promising move at one point, she was climbing well, and she ended up finishing fourth.
In case you're wondering – no, Vos never raced the Primavera Rosa. It might seem like she's been racing (and winning) forever but in 2005 she was only 17 and a year away from making her pro debut. You'd have to think that if the race had run continuously since 1999 Vos would have won more than a few editions, but as it currently stands, she's yet to win in San Remo.
Can she win it Saturday? Absolutely. Her best shot is probably to follow the most dangerous attacks late then win the sprint from small group. Or from a bigger group. Who would begrudge the GOAT adding yet another new race to her ridiculously long palmares?
Note too that Vos has Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in her corner and the Frenchwoman has shown great signs in her first season back on the road (especially with third at Strade Bianche). Expect PFP to take an aggressive approach to allow Vos to bide her time behind.
You haven't mentioned Demi Vollering at all ...
She's got a great chance too. She's probably less of a favourite than she would be at other races, just because the climbs might not be hard enough for her to get significant separation. But you just never know. This is Demi Vollering we're talking about.
If she's going to win, it feels like maybe a longer-range move, on the Cipressa, is how she'll do it. Or maybe she finds a way into a small group over the Poggio and can use her fast finish to beat others on the line. Who knows.
Of note, FDJ-Suez has another great option in Ally Wollaston. The Kiwi has had a great start to the year, winning the Surf Coast Classic and Cadel's Race in Australia, then the Clasica de Almeria over in Spain. For a great sprinter she can definitely climb too, so for her it'll probably be a case of hanging on over the Cipressa and Poggio and hoping she'll get a chance to sprint from a reduced bunch (ideally sans Wiebes and Balsamo).
Elisa Longo Borghini has to be in the conversation too, right?
Yep. Like Vollering (and other non-sprinters) the Italian will need to get away from the main bunch to win, ideally by herself (On the Cipressa? Poggio? One of the descents?) or in a very small group. It's certainly a possibility, and there'd be something very satisfying about the Italian champ winning the first edition of MSR's return, but on paper at least, there are other races on the calendar that probably suit Longo Borghini better.
Don't write her off though – she's far too talented to not factor in the race somehow. And don't write off her UAE Team ADQ more generally. As Abby wrote the other day, we can almost guarantee they'll be aggressive in the finale. Definitely expect the ever-versatile Silvia Persico to be at the fore when it matters most.
Who else is worth considering?
Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) is a name we've mentioned plenty so far this year, and will continue to mention. The Dutch multi-disciplinary star has done five one-day races this year for a worst result of seventh.
At some point Pieterse is going to win a big one-day race to go with her Tour de France Femmes stage win from last year. That might not be on Saturday, but she should feature heavily again. She's got a great sprint from a small group, and she'll definitely be one to watch on the descent off the Poggio, what with her technical skills from MTB.
Speaking of great descenders, one woman who'll surely be trying to ride her rivals off her wheel on the late descents is Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto). The reigning Tour de France Femmes champ is back after crashing out of Strade Bianche and if she can get a gap off the Poggio, say, she'd be a very popular winner.
Niewiadoma has a strong team around her too. Chiara Consonni if it comes to a sprint, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig for some earlier aggression, Chloe Dygert to make things hard for everyone else in the bike race when she inevitably attacks ...
The combination of fast-finishing Alex Manly and the versatile all-rounder Kim Le Court gives AG Insurance-Soudal a couple of great options. Even though it's her first race of the year, Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) could be dangerous from a late move, although the technical descending (particularly if it's wet) will likely work against her.
Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco) is a very versatile sprinter who continues to prove her strength in the one-days. Movistar, too, has a couple of great cards to play in Liane Lippert – who might be looking for a late move – and 18-year-old Cat Ferguson – last year's junior world champ in the road race and time trial – who sprinted to a very impressive third at Binda last week in what was the first WorldTour race of her career.
In short, it's a wide-open field with lots of riders that could feature in a race that could finish in any number of ways. And that's pretty exciting as the women's Milan-San Remo finally returns to the calendar.
The weather
At this stage, "light rain showers and a moderate breeze" is how the BBC is forecasting Saturday's weather in San Remo. Does "moderate breeze" mean the chance of crosswinds? It might do.
There seems to be a possibility of some crosswinds in the first half of the race, before the breeze will become more of a tailwind for the finale. We're only looking at a wind of around 10-15 km/h though so maybe don't get your hopes up for too much echelon action. Particularly given the roads are rarely straight as they wind along the coast, making any crosswinds reasonably short-lived.
As for the rain: it's looking like a roughly 30% chance of seeing some precipitation – low enough to provide comfort to many of the riders. That said, if the roads are still wet from earlier rain, that could make the fast run-in to the Cipressa quite sketchy, so too the descents off the two final climbs.
Temperature-wise, it's looking like it will be around 14 ºC (57 ºF) for the last few hours of the race.
How to watch
If you haven't already got Joe Lindsey's 'How to watch pro cycling in 2025' bookmarked, now is the time. But looking specifically at the women's Milan-San Remo, Max will have coverage in the US, FloBikes has the rights in Canada, TNT Sports will be the place to go in the UK, and SBS has coverage in Australia.
The earliest expected finish is at 2:18pm CET (12:18am AEDT | 7:18am MDT | 9:18am EDT) . Check out the race timetable to work out when best to tune in, but be sure to watch at least the last hour.
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