TEAM SET FOR SANREMO WOMEN SEQUEL

Four of the six riders who lined up at last year’s inaugural edition of Sanremo Women will return to Genoa on March 21, ready to tackle an almost identical 156.9 kilometres of steadily intensifying racing along the Ligurian coast.

First-timers Rosa Klöser and Soraya Paladin will join Chiara Consonni, Tiffany Cromwell, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka for a race that promises a thrilling showdown between sprinters, puncheurs and fast-finishing all-rounders.

Chiara arrives to the race with strong form, just two weeks after claiming her first victory of the season in dominant fashion at Vuelta a Extremadura. This weekend’s race holds extra significance for Chiara, both in terms of ambition and sentiment.

“Sanremo is a personal goal, for sure. When I was young, it was one of my favourite races and I think the first race that I saw for the men. I think it’s a big step that they introduced it for women and it’s still one of my favourite races, so I will really enjoy it and give it 100%.”

“I know that a lot of people – my parents, family and friends – will be there to cheer for me. When you race in Italy, it’s always a special feeling if you know that people are there to push you on and cheer, so I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”

Chiara remains pragmatic about the chances of a sprint finish, but is confident in the strength of her team.

“Never say never, but I think that it’s really a hard race. Last year, it was a bit chaotic because it was the first year and nobody knew how the race would be. This year, for sure I will fight to try and stay with the best on Cipressa and Poggio, and then I will just have to see what happens. I mean, we have the card of Kasia who is now really strong and in shape, so it can be a good race for us to play with the two cards.”

The predecessor to the women’s race that we know today was the Primavera Rosa, which briefly ran alongside the monument-classified men’s Milano Sanremo between 1999 and 2005. That symmetry disappeared until last year, when Sanremo Women was born. Tracing the final half of the men’s traditional course along the dazzling Italian Riviera, the route is famously backloaded, with the race gathering momentum as the kilometres tick by.

Teams dial up their concentration and racing intent as the final 30km approach, with the iconic ascents of the Cipressa (5.6km at 4.1%) and Poggio (3.7km at 3.7%) looming ahead.

From the summit of the Poggio, just 5.4km remain. Much of it is spent plunging down a technical descent where riders at the front tread a fine line between speed and control, and those further back rail every curve in pursuit. When the snaking road straightens out, it becomes a simple but adrenaline-filled dash onto Via Roma – Sanremo’s bustling shopping street and the site of many legendary victories.

Last year, Kasia crossed the line in 15th place after launching an attack on the Poggio, the conditions proving too gentle to open a decisive gap. She then turned her focus to supporting Chloé Dygert, who sprinted to sixth place after briefly losing ground on the descent.

Kasia is looking to put last year’s learning into practice this time around.

“Every race that’s not won teaches you many lessons. The final is very special with two climbs that are not very difficult but can make a difference, and only by racing you understand the rhythm and the challenging parts.”

When asked if she still sees opportunities on the climbs this year, Kasia said:

“Yes I do. It’s a good option for most of the teams that can play a card on the climbs, to drop the sprinters and have a selective small group, and maybe even a solo winner.”

Rolf Aldag, the team’s sports director for Sanremo Women, highlights how the weather will be crucial in shaping the tactics along a course that, on paper, seems relatively simple.

“I think the final strategy will only be defined once we have done Wednesday’s recon, and that’s due to the fact that it will depend on the weather situation, because there’s a really big chance that the race unfolds differently if we have headwind rather than tailwind along the coast.”

“With full headwind, we would have to take it pretty conservative and probably wait, wait, wait, but if it’s a tailwind, something can happen already on the Cipressa. This would mean a chance of not being caught back before Poggio and surviving, but either way, a lot of people would then be cooked and that might mean a smaller group coming to the finish line on Via Roma.”

“If it’s full headwind and the peloton are stuck with 20kph wind, then usually you go nowhere, and a bigger group is expected. So what does that mean for us? Of course, we always love to ride on the offensive and aggressively, and that’s probably what we would jointly do with other teams that we believe would have the same theory, and not really wait for the sprint. But, Chiara already won this year, so there are for sure two focuses: Kasia, if we can do something on the climbs, and if it’s going to be a sprint then it will be a chance for Chiara.”

While racing in Italy will grab the headlines, a pair of Belgian races are on the calendar for Team Generation this weekend. A national-level kermesse will serve as a leg-loosener ahead of the UCI 1.1 Midwest Cycling Classic – a 135km circuit-based race featuring the typical narrow roads and punchy bends of a Belgian course, although a sunny forecast should ease the challenge.

After just arriving to Europe, double Eritrean National Champion Monaliza Araya Chneslasie will make her debut with team Generation at Saturday’s kermesse, while Tsige Kahsay Kiros will also be racing. Continuing into Sunday will be a seven rider line-up: boxer-turned-cyclist Sophie Alisch in her first-ever race, Erja Bianchi, Jule Märkl, Joëlle Messemer, Awen Roberts, WorldTeam addition Maike van der Duin and Weronika Wąsaty.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Sanremo Women | 1.WWT | March 21 | 156.1km | 1304m elevation | Start 10:35 CET – fastest finish 14:18.

The women’s race will be live from 12:30 CET on TNT Sports, Eurosport, Max, FloBikes, SBS Sport, Rai and other regional broadcasters. Updates can also be found on X via #SanremoWomen and through CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto social channels.

Midwest Cycling Classic | UCI 1.1 | March 22 | 135.5km | 567m elevation | Start 12:00 CET – fastest finish 15:26.

The race will be streamed live from 13:45 CET on the non-geo-blocked Pickx Proximus livestream, along with social updates at #MidwestCyclingClassic.