95th Milan-Sanremo - The Parcours

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The Parcours

La Primavera is the longest race of the season at 294 kilometers. The climbing on the way to the Ligurian coast is not staggering - it is a gradual descent toward the Turchino Pass at 523 meters of elevation, at about the halfway point of the race (143 km). It is then a fast descent from Turchino to the coast at Voltri, where the riders turn west toward Sanremo.

At the end of the course however, are a series of hills that challenge the riders who have already put in well over 200 km, and they must still conserve energy for the sprint along the Via Roma in Sanremo - which some anticipate will be a Petacchi-Cipollini spectacle. After the last climb, the Poggio, the riders descend almost 150 meters in 3 kilometers to the final run in.

The Last 50 Kilometers - The Hills (Capos):
Capo Mele (65m) at 244 km, 51.9 km to the finish
Capo Cervo-Mimosa (77m) at 247 km, 46 km before the finish
Capo Berta (130m) at 254 km, 39 km to the finish
Capo Cipressa (240m) at 277 km, 21 km before the finish
Capo Verde (45m) 284 km, 9 km to the finish
Santuario N.S. della Guardia (115m) to Poggio (162 m) - kms 286-288, 5 km from the finish

Difficult Descents:
Capo Berta to Oneglia (km 254-258)
Cipressa (km 265.4)
Poggio di Sanremo (km 281.3).

Tunnels:
One tunnel at Turchino (km 143)
One tunnel between Albisola and Savona (km 176)
Three tunnels between Spotorno and Varigotti (km 193)
Two tunnels between Varigotti and Finale Ligure (km 201)
One tunnel at Arma di Taggia (km 275).

Of note: From Capo Berta (39 kms from the finish), official vehicles are forbidden.

The Weather

Milano - Saturday should see pleasant conditions for the peloton - mostly cloudy, 61°/16° for a high, low temperature in the morning of 37°/6°, but with a 20% chance of rain and wind from the southwest at 6 km/h (10mph). So it will be chilly in the morning as the riders sign in, and they will face a slight bit of headwind as they drive toward the sea - not much in the way of tan-line improvements for the day.

Masone - Passo di Turchino - Cloudy with chance of drizzles, temperatures between 6-10 degrees Celsius (42-50F).

Sanremo - Only 10% chance of rain - mostly cloudy with a high Saturday of 63°/17° with wind from the South-Southwest at 16 km/h (10 mph) - so slightly windier at the end of their long ride than at the beginning, so wind could be a bit of a factor.