Milan-San Remo: Moments in history
1916. 1944. 1945. 2020. These are the only years Milan-San Remo hasn’t run since it was founded way back in 1907. The first cancellation was due to World War I. The next two were down to World War II. The fourth of those due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed thousands, that has much of the world on lockdown, and that has brought cycling to a halt.
At the time of writing, it’s not clear when the 2020 racing season will resume. Races through March and into April, and some races as far in advance as June, have been called off. The Giro d’Italia is gone, so too the whole of the Spring Classics season. The Tour de France is in doubt, likewise the Tokyo Olympics. Quite simply, this is a cycling season like no other.
Thankfully though, we have many decades of history to look back on in this spring without the Spring Classics. In the case of Milan-San Remo, there are 110 editions of “La Primavera” full of stories for us remember and to relish.
In the gallery below you’ll find a whole host of images from past editions of Milan-San Remo, courtesy of the Cor Vos photo archive and the galleries of Kristof Ramon. We invite you to join us for a ride down memory lane ahead of this Saturday’s now-cancelled 2020 Milan-San Remo.
This post is an updated version of an article first published in 2013.
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- Eddy Merckx celebrating victory at the 1976 Milan-San Remo. In all, he won the race an incredible seven times.
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- Jan Raas won the 1977 edition of the race and is pictured here (centre) with his TI-Raleigh teammate Bert Oosterbosch (right).
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- Roger de Vlaminck won the 1979 edition of Milan-San Remo, making it three victories for the Belgian.
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- Eddy Planckaert and Marc Sergeant attack the field in the 1982 edition of La Classica di Primavera. This was the first year the decisive Cipressa climb was included in the race.
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- Francesco Moser (uncle of Moreno) holds aloft the trophy from the 1984 Milan-San Remo.
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- Dutch rider Hennie Kuiper won the 1985 edition of the race, the final of four Monument victories in his career.
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- Greg LeMond looks back at a rival during the 1986 race which was won by Irish rider Sean Kelly.
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- Laurent Fignon won back-to-back Milan-San Remos in 1988 and 1989. Only eight riders have achieved this feat, including Eddy Merckx who did it three times (1966 & 1967, 1971 & 1972, 1975 & 1976) and Erik Zabel who went back-to-back twice (1997 & 1998, 2000 & 2001).
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- Maurizio Fondriest attacks on the Poggio climb in 1993 and would go on to win the race. The Poggio was added to Milan-San Remo in 1960 and its inclusion has meant the race doesn’t always end in a sprint.
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- Look at this motley crew. Johan Museeuw, Marco Pantani and all the rest. Maarten den Bakker drives the bunch during the 1997 Milan-San Remo. Den Bakker would go on to finish 41st — the highest-placed Dutchman — with Erik Zabel taking out the win.
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- Laurent Jalabert and Johan Museeuw fall in the peloton as Erik Zabel takes out the 1997 edition of the race.
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- Andrei Tchmile looks back in the last 100m before taking out the 1999 Milan-San Remo.
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- Erik Zabel takes victory in the 2001 edition of the race, making it the second time the German had won back-to-back at Milan-San Remo.
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- Cipollini’s victory in 2002 race was arguably the biggest of his career at that point, easily beating USA’s Fred Rodriguez and Switzerland’s Markus Zberg (in orange).
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- Mario Cipollini and Paolo Bettini after the 2002 Milan-San Remo.
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- The 2003 Milan-San Remo belonged to Italian rider Paolo Bettini who is seen here winning ahead of Mirko Celestino.
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- Erik Zabel celebrates rather prematurely as he is beaten on the line by Oscar Freire in 2004. Stuey O’Grady (far left) thew his bike over the line for third.
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- A jubilant Oscar Freire after snatching victory over Erik Zabel by a mere 3cm.
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- There was a women’s version of Milan-San Remo, called the Primavera Rosa, which ran from 1999 to 2005. The 2004 edition was taken out by Russian Zoulfia Zabirova with Mirjam Melchers and Australia’s Oenone Wood also making the podium.
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- Alessandro Petacchi won the bunch sprint to take out the 2005 Milan-San Remo. Behind him was Hondo, Hushovd, O’Grady, Freire, and a young Gilbert and Boonen.
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- Jens Voigt puts himself deep in the pain cave in the 2004 Milan-San Remo with Matthias Kessler hot on his heels.
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- The peloton hugs the Mediterranean coastline during the 2005 Milan-San Remo.
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- Filippo Pozzato crosses the line first in 2006 while his Team QuickStep teammate Tom Boonen celebrates in the background.
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- Oscar Freire pumps the air after winning his second Milan-San Remo, this one in 2007. Second place went to Allan Davis, third to Tom Boonen, fourth to Robbie McEwen and fifth to Stuey O’Grady. Not a bad year for the Aussies.
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- Fabian Cancellara wins the 2008 edition of Milan-San Remo 4 seconds ahead of the peloton led by Filippo Pozzato. Cancellara had started as one of the favourites in the race and time-trialled his way to victory after leaping away from the 15-rider strong breakaway with 2km to go.
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- Cliffs of the Mediterranean near San Remo.
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- Heinrich Haussler made a late attack with 250m to go in the 100th edition of Milan-San Remo (in 2009) but Cavendish was too strong, making up Haussler’s 10m lead with 100m to go.
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- A distraught and exhausted Haussler moments after finishing the race.
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- Michael Rogers spent some time off the front in the 2010 Milan-San Remo, a race that was eventually won by Oscar Freire.
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- All bunched up in the 2011 Milan-San Remo which was later won by Matthew Goss, the first Australian to win the race.
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- Matthew Goss sprints to the line ahead of Fabian Cancellara in 2011 to become the first Australian to win Milan-San Remo.
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- An exhausted Matthew Goss (left) after taking out the 2011 race ahead of Fabian Cancellara (right)
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- The peloton rolls through the Campo Ligure during the 2012 edition of the race.
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- Fabian Cancellara, Simon Gerrans and Vincenzo Nibali at the business end of the 2012 edition which Simon Gerrans won in a sprint ahead of Cancellara.
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- Simon Gerrans outsprints Fabian Cancellara to the finish in 2012. “He (Fabian) was going like a motorbike. He followed Nibali and myself on the Poggio, drove it over the top and was the best descender. Without question Fabian was the strongest, I can’t deny him that” Gerro said in the press conference. “He drove the break to the finish. I gave him one turn but he passed me again. I was confident the break would make it to the finish and I knew what I had to do to finish off the job and win. Fabian was racing to win in the finale. He perhaps thought he had enough to finish it off but perhaps he underestimated me in the finale.” Photo courtesy of Kristof Ramon
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- The 2013 edition of Milan-San Remo will be remembered as one of the most extreme races in recent memory. Heavy snow lashed the course, setting the scene for some amazing photos, but unpleasant conditions for the riders.
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- Heavy snow on the Passo del Turchino in 2013 forced organisers to remove the climb from the race at the last minute. Riders climbed into their team buses halfway through the race, were driven around the mountain and out to the Mediterrannan Coast, and resumed the race from there.
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- A desperate lunge for the line sees Gerald Ciolek win the 2013 Milan-San Remo ahead of pre-race favourites Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara, taking the first WorldTour win for his MTN-Qhubeka team in the process.
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- In 2014 Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) was fastest in a group of 25 that reached the finish together.
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- The weather was fine in the 2016 edition, a change from previous years.
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- In recent years, fans have taken to lighting flares on the “capi” that define the last 50km of the race.
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- Arnaud Demare was something of a surprise winner in 2016, particularly after he crashed in the closing kilometres. The Frenchman had to defend himself against accusations that he had hung onto his teamcar in trying to get back to the bunch.
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- The 2017 edition came down to a three-up sprint between Peter Sagan (left), Michal Kwiatkowski (centre) and Julian Alaphilippe (right) after the trio got away on the Poggio.
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- In 2018 Vincenzo Nibali got away on the Poggio and somehow managed to hold off the chasing peloton to win solo, just metres ahead of the surging bunch.
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- The 2019 edition came down to a select lead group after Alaphilippe helped split the race on the Poggio. The Frenchman won the sprint to continue what was a golden year for the QuickStep rider.
