The first Van der Poel vs Pogacar of the year? This is how the Milan-San Remo 2025 arrives

The hunting season for the monuments opens with the dispute, next Saturday March 22 of La Primavera, the Milan-San Remo 2025. The classic of speed marked by its very long route, practically flat, of almost 300 kilometers in which only the best endurance riders are able to reach the conclusion with a single bullet to spend at the right moment. Besides, this Milan-San Remo 2025 will be special because, after 20 years without being disputed, its women's version returns to the calendar, with a route that will start in Genoa.

New attempt by Pogacar to win the most difficult classic. Favorites to win the Milan-San Remo

Despite the tremendous power that Tadej Pogacar has been showing in each of the races he participates in, the Milan-San Remo has resisted him year after year, one of the two monuments alongside Paris-Roubaix that the Slovenian still does not have in his palmare?s and that would make him, if he is not already, a totally legendary cyclist.

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In any case, Tadej Pogacar starts as the number 1 favorite and everyone knows that UAE Team Emirates-XRG will climb the Cipressa at full speed to undermine the strength of the group and that on the Poggio he will have to try to break the race once again given the almost impossibility of winning the race if the outcome is a sprint.

Something that the Slovenian cyclist would have achieved if not for the intervention in the last two seasons of Mathieu van der Poel who has been the only one capable of resisting the tremendous challenge on the Poggio proposed by Pogacar and who, two years ago, helped him conquer the Milan-San Remo while, in the previous edition, his tremendous work left the victory on a plate for his teammate Jasper Philipsen.

A Jasper Philipsen who, of course, must be taken into account after opening his account of victories in this 2025 in the Belgian opening weekend where he won the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

However, in 2025 the Milan-San Remo seems even more open than usual with the presence of some cyclists who have shown last week that they have prepared for it thoroughly. The first of them already knows what it is like to come close to victory in this race. We are talking about Filippo Ganna who has been seen in tremendous form these days during the Tirreno-Adriatico, even managing to get on the final podium of the race and shattering the clock in the first stage. The giant from Verbania showed great strength in all the climbs of the race and only the mountain that crowned the queen stage could beat him.

The other great contender for victory is none other than former world champion Mads Pedersen who, although he has a 4th place as his best result in Milan-San Remo, has shown during the recent Paris-Nice in ideal form, a race he sealed with a victory in the sixth stage.

Beyond these favorites, we must not forget that the Milan-San Remo is the classic most open to surprises and often is decided by some subtle detail, so it is never ruled out that a cyclist who was not initially considered a favorite ends up taking the victory.

Also, mention to the women's version of this Milan-San Remo that returns to the calendar after 20 years without being disputed. A race in which the top favorite, given her characteristics, should be Lotte Kopecky although one should never rule out a Demi Vollering capable of winning on any terrain, a veteran Marianne Vos for whom this route suits her perfectly, or why not, a Pauline Ferrand-Prevot who surprised everyone with her third place in Strade Bianche.

Milan-San Remo 2025 Route

The route of the Milan-San Remo 2025 this year stays 11 kilometers below the 300 barrier that has made this race legendary, but it doesn't matter because the essence remains the same: a practically flat route, only punctuated by the Passo del Turchino in the middle part to descend towards the coast and the winding final part, along the rugged coast of Liguria, where first the Capos Mele, Cervo, and Berta and then the final fireworks with the climbs to the beautiful village of Cipressa and the mythical Poggio de San Remo make the Milan-San Remo one of the most recognizable routes in world cycling.

As has been customary in recent years, the race no longer starts from the city of Milan for logistical reasons, with the start being moved in 2025 to the nearby city of Pavia, as we said, a minor change that does not affect the spirit of a race that is run at a frantic pace in a slow and steady accumulation of fatigue that comes to light when the group faces the Poggio, a ridiculous climb, 3.7 km at 3.7% average gradient, in any other circumstance but in the Milan-San Remo manages to break the race to enjoy some of the most intense minutes of the entire season.

We will also be able to enjoy in 2025 the women's version of the Milan-San Remo for which the city of Genoa has been chosen as the starting point. A race that will have a route of 156 kilometers, all along the Ligurian coast, sharing much of the route with the men's race.

How to watch the Milan-San Remo 2025

As usual, Eurosport and the Max platform will be the only options to follow the development of the Milan-San Remo 2025. A race that we can follow through Eurosport 1 channel and Max in its entirety, from the start at 10 in the morning until the conclusion, scheduled around 5:30 pm.

Through Max, we can watch the men's race continuously, while Eurosport 1 will interrupt the broadcast at 12:30 to offer the women's race, whose conclusion is estimated around 2:30 pm, returning after it to the decisive part of the men's race.