The 115th edition of the Classicissima di Primavera, the first of the five Monument Classics, scheduled for Saturday 16 March, has been presented. For the first time, the start will be from Pavia (Piazza della Vittoria) where, on Friday afternoon, the eve of the race, the teams presentation will also be held.
The 2024 Milano-Sanremo presented by Crédit Agricole starts in Pavia and, after covering around 44 km of flat roads astride the Ticino River, it merges back onto the classic route in Casteggio. From there, the race once again takes the route that has connected Milan to the Riviera di Ponente for over 110 years, through Ovada and the Passo del Turchino, dropping into Genoa in Voltri. From there, it rolls westwards, by the sea, following the Statale Aurelia through Varazze, Savona, Albenga (avoiding the Manie climb, which only featured in the route from 2008 to 2013) and Imperia. In San Lorenzo al Mare, past the classic sequence of the Capi (Mele, Cervo and Berta), the peloton will negotiate the two climbs that have entered the race route in recent decades: the Cipressa (1982) and the Poggio di Sanremo (1961). The Cipressa is just over 5.6 km long with a gradient of 4.1%. The highly testing descent leads back down to SS 1 Aurelia.
Final kilometers
The ascent of Poggio di Sanremo begins with 9 km remaining to the finish (3.7 km, average gradient less than 4%, maximum 8% in the segment before getting to the top of the climb). The road is slightly narrower, with 4 hairpin turns in the first 2 km. The descent is testing, on asphalt switchback roads, narrow at points and with twists and turns as far as the junction with SS 1 Aurelia. The final part of the descent enters urban Sanremo. The last 2 km are on long, straight urban roads. There is a left-hand bend on a roundabout 850 m from the finish line. The last bend, leading into the home straight on the Via Roma, is 750 m from the finish line
Mauro Vegni, RCS Sport Cycling Area Director: “We are ready for an exciting new season of Spring Classics that will close with one of the most eagerly awaited, the Milano-Sanremo, the first Monumento of the year. We start for the first time from Pavia, which will host the presentation of the teams on Friday. La Classicissima is not only a sporting event, but also a driver for promoting the region, since the race will be broadcast live again this year and will be visible in every country in the world. From today the countdown to 16 March begins and we’re sure that we’ll once again experience a glorious day like last year, which saw four champions, all with different characteristics, compete for success, demonstrating that the Milano-Sanremo is still one of the most coveted races of the year”.
Mario Fabrizio Fracassi, Mayor of Pavia: “The 2024 Milano-Sanremo, which will be raced on Saturday 16 March starting from Pavia, will open the long-awaited season of the great Classics and, as per tradition, it will be an unmissable event for all cycling fans. Pavia, a city with a thousand-year-old historical and cultural tradition, will become the international capital of great cycling for one day, and it will offer its rich historical, artistic and monumental heritage to both Italian and foreign guests, and to all the fans who will follow the race live on television. Pavia’s wealth is expressed both by its most famous monuments, such as the Visconti Castle, the Cathedral, or the Covered Bridge, and by countless hidden treasures that truly surprise tourists: the medieval quarters, the Ticino River and its village, the many Romanesque churches, its University, and its traditional theatre. I am sure that the 2024 Milano-Sanremo will be absolutely spectacular, as usual, and it will be an exceptional showcase for Pavia”.
Pietro Trivi, Sports Councillor of the Municipality of Pavia: “The 2024 edition of Milano-Sanremo will see our City as the new starting point: Pavia, which has always been an integral part of the classic route of the race, will be at the centre of attention of Italian and foreign cycling fans. Our City proves to have an ever-increasing love for sports: after hosting the prestigious 1000 Miglia and the Enduro Championship, it will now welcome the classic Milano-Sanremo, which will start from the most exclusive part of the city, Piazza della Vittoria. The history of the Classicissima is a constellation of memorable feats, with a roll of honour in which extraordinary champions stand out, a fascinating and always unpredictable race that has never failed to live up to expectations. As Councillor for Sports, I am delighted that our city is once again hosting a top event, which thrills the many lovers of road cycling and puts the spotlight on Pavia”.
Giovanni Merlino, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Pavia Chamber of Commerce: “The Pavia Chamber of Commerce will be very committed to collaborating together with the municipality for the best success of the event. The Milano-Sanremo is one of the most important races in the world and guarantees visibility with few equals at the international level. This will have a positive influence on the promotion of the territories, I’m thinking of the 54 km that will take place in our Province and the municipalities that will be touched by the passage of the group such as Belgioioso, San Zenone al Po, Stradella, Broni, Casteggio and Voghera”.
Roberta Marcone, Councillor Tourism and Commerce of Pavia: “Pavia is a lively university city with a very ancient history, an interesting destination for those who want to discover noble palaces, Romanesque churches, monuments and excellent food and wine products. Thanks to the Milano-Sanremo, which this year will start from our city, it will be able to reveal its many treasures to cycling fans, and to those who will follow the race live on television. In Pavia, in fact, there is no shortage of places of artistic and cultural interest: from the Basilica of San Michele Maggiore, a masterpiece of Lombard Romanesque architecture, to the Duomo, with the equestrian statue of Regisole in front of it, to the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro, erected by order of the Lombard king Liutprand to house the remains of Saint Augustine of Hippo, in whose crypt rests the philosopher Severinus Boethius. The beautiful civil monuments include the Ponte Coperto (covered bridge) over the Ticino River, which has become the symbol of the city, the medieval towers in the historic centre and the Castello Visconteo, which houses the Civic Museums. And how could we not mention the University, the oldest university in Lombardy and one of the oldest in the world, which had among its professors such illustrious figures as Alessandro Volta, Ugo Foscolo and Carlo Rubbia. I hope, therefore, that this ‘classicissima’ of two wheels will help even those who do not yet know our city to discover it, because Pavia awaits you with open arms”.
