A peloton of 141 riders rolled out from the Italian port city of Genoa under drizzly, foreboding skies, the roads slick with rain. After 156 kilometres, a reduced group of 12 contested a hard-fought sprint in Sanremo under clearing skies, with a sense of history reawakened.

Chloé Dygert powered to sixth place for CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto in this reborn edition of Sanremo Women, following a relentless and high-pressure race down the Ligurian coast.

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, who snuck inside the top 15, gives a summary of how the monumental day unfolded:

“Today’s race was more hectic than hard, I would say, just because the run into Cipressa and Poggio was not super challenging, and the peloton just knew that everyone has to be in the front, so that just made everything super stressful and hectic.

I think that as a team, we made progress in how we rode together from the start of the year in comparison to how it was in the beginning of the year, so that is a positive thing. We had a plan, and everyone did their best to execute it. Unfortunately, we lost Tiffany (Cromwell) because of the crash, but then Chiara (Consonni) did an amazing job keeping us safe before the climbs. Agnieszka performed well on Cipressa, and Cecilie did a good pace on Poggio, from which I attacked, but nothing broke away. So then on the descent, I saw that Chloé had a little gap to those ahead. I tried but unfortunately wasn’t able to bring her all the way to the front, and she also had to waste some energy jumping across to the group. 

I think, generally, there is still something we need to improve, but considering everything, I think it was a better day that we can still learn from, but also look positively into the future.”

Today’s race was more than just a journey of three hours, 43 minutes, and 32 seconds – it marked a critical milestone in women’s cycling, 20 years in the making, as the peloton returned to one of the sport’s most iconic races.

Milano-Sanremo is one of the five monuments of men’s cycling, a title bestowed upon the oldest, longest, hardest and by virtue, the most prestigious races on the calendar. While a women’s event, the Primavera Rosa, briefly ran alongside between 1999 and 2005, today’s Sanremo Women represented both the beginning of a new dawn and a tribute to the female pioneers who once raced these roads largely out of pure passion.

Judging by the intensity from the outset, the women’s peloton understood the weight of the occasion.

An average speed exceeding 41kph across the entire day meant that early breakaway attempts failed to make a notable impact. The three short climbs, averaging no more than 6%, known collectively as the Tre Capi, caused tension at the rear as the race entered the final 60 kilometres. However, it was the constant jousting for position leading into the race’s pivotal moments, on roads where not everyone could fit, that led to crashes, splits, and bruised ambitions.

As in the men’s race, the business end of La Classicissima begins within the final 30 kilometres, where the Cipressa (5.6% at 4.1%) and Poggio (3.7km at 3.7%) loom on the horizon.

The Cipressa saw a steady but selective pace, with Kasia and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka positioning themselves well to avoid the preceding chaos and reach the climb’s narrow entrance within the top ten. A fierce tempo, driven by teams protecting their sprinters, whittled the peloton down to just 30 riders.

On the rapid, snaking descent that followed, gaps began to open due to the downhill prowess of the peloton’s most proficient. Kasia made the grade and found herself in an elite selection, momentarily gaining an advantage, but with hesitation in the group, the race came back together on the flats.

After being distanced on the Cipressa descent, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig played the part of perfect teammate, charging to the front of the bunch as the peloton navigated the initial bends of the Poggio. She buried herself for almost the entirety of the final ascent in support of Kasia and Chloé, who were biding their time safely in the bunch.

Kasia responded to early accelerations from other notable climbers before launching a move of her own, but on the Poggio’s mild gradients, no-one could force a meaningful difference. With many riders already having survived a punishing test on the Cipressa, the level in the bunch was simply too high, and the draft too valuable.

Then came the moment cycling fans live for each Spring Classics season—and from now on, it will happen twice: the nerve-wracking, nail-biting, hair-raising descent of the Poggio with just 5.4km remaining.

The dicey twists and turns proved race-defining for many, reducing the lead group to a select handful as they reached the wide, flat roads on the outskirts of Sanremo. Longo-Borghini (UAD) took her chance with an audacious solo effort, rounding the penultimate turn onto Via Roma alone.

The decimated group, with Chloé rejoining the front after being distanced on the descent, was led by SD Worx – Protime for sprint favourite Wiebes. The peloton was breathing down the neck of Longo-Borghini, and in the final few hundred metres, the race dramatically came back together. The victor of the revamped Sanremo Women would ultimately be determined in a sprint for the fastest legs.

Chloé launched her sprint from the back of the bunch, still feeling the effects of her efforts to regain contact with the front, but couldn’t make up enough ground, finishing in sixth.

The team’s next races will be Classic Brugge-De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields, on March 27th and 30th, respectively.