Milan–San Remo 2020
The Milan-San Remo 2020 is likely to take place on Saturday 8 August 2020. The race amounts to 291 kilometres and includes the renowned Cipressa-Poggio in the finale. Originally, the race was scheduled for Saturday 21 March. Milan-San Remo 2020 forms part of the men’s UCI World Tour circuit, and starts in Milan before ending in San Remo, Northwest Italy. Known as ‘The Spring Classic’, it’s now in its 111th year and is one of the famous five ‘Monuments’ alongside the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia.
The current title holder is Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Team Deceuninck - Quick Step). He beat Oliver Naesen (Team AG2R La Mondiale) and Michał Kwiatkowski (Team INEOS) to take the win. Alaphilipe won the final sprint against a group of elite riders, including Peter Sagan (Team BORA - hansgrohe), Vincenzo Nibali (Team Bahrain Merida), the former World Champion Alejandro Valverde (Team Movistar) and Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb).
The Milan-San Remo 2020 favourites
The Milan-San Remo is considered favourable for sprinters, considering its mainly flat course - unlike the other Italian Classic, the Giro di Lombardia. The total distance of the Milan-San Remo is around 300 km, making it a fairly long one-day race. However, the race ends with the famous Poggia which presents the perfect opportunity to attack to break away from the peloton and hold off the bunch sprint - exactly how Nibali did in 2018.
Vincenzo Nibali won with a stunning solo victory in 2018 and is considered the Italian favourite. However, Julian Alaphilippe’s form has been astonishing and he will be a hard man to beat. Former World Champion Peter Sagan will be hoping to claim the title, while the likes of Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma), who came 6th last year, Matteo Trentin (Team Mitchelton-Scott), who came 10th last year, and 2017 winner Kwiatkowski will hope for a strong performance.
Other challengers who will be looking for at least a podium place are Elia Viviani (Team Deceuninck - Quick Step), Caleb Ewan (Team Lotto Soudal), 2014 winner Alexander Kristoff (Team UAE-Team Emirates), Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Team Emirates), and Arnaud Demare (Team Groupama - FDJ), who won in 2016.