Milan-San Remo 2026

The days are ticking down until the first of cycling's Monuments of the 2026 season, Milan-San Remo. Here's everything you need to know!

The race takes place on Saturday March 21 in 2026, with riders tackling a 298 kilometre race route from the south of Milan to Genoa and then along the Mediterranean coast, before turning west toward France to the finish line in San Remo.

The race begins at 10:10 p.m. CET (9:10 a.m. in the UK or 5:10 a.m. EDT) and finishes around 4:30 p.m. CET (3:30/11:30). Find out How to Watch Milan-San Remo.

After our Deputy Editor Patrick Fletcher made his picks for the Milan-San Remo contenders, Lidl-Trek announced that Mads Pedersen would start the race just six weeks after breaking his collarbone and wrist in his first day of competition for the year.

Will Pedersen rank among the favourites? Stay tuned!

Milan-San Remo winners have come either from a small attack, usually going clear on the final climb of the Poggio, or from a reduced bunch sprint if the fast men can make it over that and the earlier Cipressa.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) put in a blistering surge over the summit of the Poggio and powered away for a solo victory in 2023, much like Matej Mohorič did in 2022, Jasper Stuyven in 2021 and Vincenzo Nibali in 2018. The last bunch sprint was won by Arnaud Démare in 2016.

In 2024 Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won a thrilling race, out-sprinting Michael Matthews and Tadej Pogačar after the attacks on the Cipressa and Poggio were controlled.

Pogačar again tried to blow up the race on the Cipressa in 2025 but could not stay away alone. Van der Poel and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) stayed with him over the Poggio and then the Dutchman won the sprint on the Via Roma.

How will the race unfold this year? It can often depend on the weather. Find out what the conditions are expected to be and how it will affect the race. Don't forget to tune into Cyclingnews for our live coverage.

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.

Milan-San Remo 2026 route

The 2026 Milan-San Remo route follows a traditional route, taking in the Cipressa and Poggio at the tail end of a 298km journey.

2026 Milan-San Remo start list

Data powered by FirstCycling

MIlan-San Remo history

The idea of a race between Milan and the Ligurian holiday town of San Remo came about at a time when races were first being created across Europe.

The Unione Sportiva Sanremese created an amateur two-day event in 1906. Gazzetta dello Sport took on the organisation of it the next year for its first official edition as a professional race.

Lucien Petit-Breton won the first edition of the Milan-San Remo in 1907. Luigi Ganna gave Italy its first victory in 1909. After World War I, Costante Girardengo amassed six victories and 11 podium placings from 1917 to 1928.

Other greats to win the race include Alfredo Binda, Gino Bartali, and Fausto Coppi. Tom Simpson was the first British Milan-San Remo winner in 1963 before Eddy Merckx began his era of domination, taking seven titles. Classics greats Roger De Vlaeminck, Sean Kelly, Laurent Jalabert, Andre Tchmil, and Fabian Cancellara as well as top sprinters like Erik Zabel, Oscar Freire, Mario Cipollini, and Mark Cavendish have all made their mark on the race.

The decisive climb of the Poggio was added in 1961 and the Cipressa in 1982, giving the race its current flavour and the perennial battle between the attackers and the sprinters.

Other changes to the route have been tried, often suggested but the fascination the current route makes Milan-San Remo "the easiest racer to finish but the hardest race to win."

Milan-San Remo records

Poggio climbing record: 5 minutes 40 seconds, Mathieu van der Poel 2023 Milan-San Remo

Most wins: Eddy Merckx - seven (1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976)

Most recent multi-time winner: Oscar Freire (2004, 2007, 2010)

Most successful nation: Italy with 51 wins, with Belgium a distant second with 22

Youngest winner: Ugo Agostoni, 20, in 1914

Oldest winner: Andrei Tchmil, 36, in 1999

Fastest edition: 45.806 kph in 1990, won by Gianni Bugno