“Everyone knows that the decisive points now are the Cipressa and Poggio. But you can’t have any distractions in the long journey that takes you there, from the neutral start, 7.6 kilometers in Milan from the Castello Sforzesco to the Via della Chiesa Rossa The tram tracks here are tricky, everyone knows that, but someone always ends up on the ground, their journey stopping before it has started.

“From kilometer zero, you have to take care to eat and drink like a maniac, otherwise you risk running out of stock at a key moment. I still remember my first participation, fully motivated and courageous, my head was only turned [the] last 20 km. And then, on the Capi, all of a sudden the lights went out and it was game over.

“Then you still have to know when to stop to urinate, and not risk expending unnecessary energy to recover. Or think about the right clothes at the right time: not too light to be cold, but also not too heavy to be too sweat.” .

“Even if you have done everything correctly, from Capo Mele, 60 kilometers from the finish, you are only halfway. From there the battle for positions begins. Watchword : to be in the lead. Any energy spent to recover the position is one less chance of winning. The Cipressa is the first test, the first selection. But be careful, do not be fooled. Even if you pass it with ease, comes next the Poggio which, between the two, is the climb that often remains more indigestible What happens next is what remains in the annals, what will be written in Milan-Sanremo history for that year .

Start list of runners at today’s race

WorldTeams

Ag2r-Citroën (Fra):Mikaël Cherel (Fra), Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra), Bob Jungels (Lux), Greg Van Avermaet (Bel), Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel), Andrea Vendrame (Ita), Larry Warbasse (US).

Astana Qazaqstan (Kaz): Leonardo Basso (Ita), Manuele Boaro (Ita), Fabio Felline (Ita), Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz), Davide Martinelli (Ita), Gianni Moscon (Ita), Artyom Zakharov (Kaz).

Bahrain victorious (Brn): Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn), Phil Bauhaus (G), Damiano Caruso (Ita), Jonathan Milan (Ita, neo-pro), Matej Mohoric (Slo), Jasha Sütterlin (G), Jan Tratnik (Slo).

BikeExchange-Jayco (Australia): Lawson Craddock (US), Luke Durbridge (Aus), Alex Edmondson (Aus), Alexander Konychev (Ita), Michael Matthews (Aus), Cameron Meyer (Aus), Luka Mezgec (Slo).

Bora-Hansgrohe (Germany): Giovanni Aleotti (Ita, neo-pro), Cesare Benedetti (Ita), Marco Haller (Aut), Ryan Mullen (Irl), Ide Schelling (Hol), Danny van Poppel (Ned).

Cofidis (fra): Davide Cimolai (Ita), Simone Consonni (Ita), Bryan Coquard (Fra), Simon Geschke (Ger), Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fra), Szymon Sajnok (Pol), Davide Villella (Ita).

DSM (All): Nico Denz (G), Nils Eekhoff (Ned), Chris Hamilton (Aus), Soren Kragh Andersen (Den), Andreas Leknessund (Nor, neo-pro), Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned), Kevin Vermaerke (US, neo-pro) .

EF Education-EasyPost (US): Alberto Bettiol (Ita), Owain Doull (GB), Jonas Rutsch (Ger), Tom Scully (NZ), James Shaw (GB), Michael Valgren (Den), Julius van den Berg (Ned).

Groupama-FDJ (Fra): Clément Davy (Fra, neo-pro), Arnaud Démare (Fra), Kevin Geniets (Hol), Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu), Quentin Pacher (Fra), Anthony Roux (Fra), Miles Scotson (Aus).

Ineos Grenadiers (GB): Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ethan Hayter (GB), Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol), Tom Pidcock (GB, neo-pro), Luke Rowe (GB), Ben Swift (GB), Elia Viviani (Ita).

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materials (Bel): Biniam Ghirmay Hailu (Eri), Alexander Kristoff (Nor), Andrea Pasqualon (Ita), Simone Petilli (Ita), Lorenzo Rota (Ita), Rein Taaramae (East), Loïc Vliegen (Bel).

Israel-Premier Tech (Isr): Matthias Brändle (Aut), Alexander Cataford (Can), Alex Dowsett (GB), Omer Goldstein (Isr), Krists Neilands (Lat), Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita), Rick Zabel (G).

Jumbo-Visma (Ned): Edoardo Affini (Ita), Christophe Laporte (Fra), Primoz Roglic (Slo), Wout van Aert (Bel), Tosh Van der Sande (Bel), Jos van Emden (Ned), Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel).

Lotto-Soudal (Bel): Filippo Conca (Ita, neo-pro), Frederik Frison (Bel), Philippe Gilbert (Bel), Roger Kluge (Ger), Maxim Van Gils (Bel, neo-pro), Florian Vermeersch (Bel).

Movistar (Spa): Alex Aranburu (Spa), Will Barta (US), Iñigo Elosegui (Spa), Iván García Cortina (Spa), Abner González (Pur, neo-pro), Max Kanter (Ger), Gonzalo Serrano (Spa).

Vinyl Quick Step-Alpha (Bel): Andrea Bagioli (Ita), Davide Ballerini (Ita), Mattia Cattaneo (Ita), Mikkel Frolich Honore (Den), Fabio Jakobsen (Ned), Florian Sénéchal (Fra), Zdenek Stybar (Cze).

Trek-Segafredo (USA): Gianluca Brambilla (Ita), Tony Gallopin (Fra), Alex Kirsch (Lux), Jacopo Mosca (Ita), Mads Pedersen (Den), Simon Pellaud (Fra), Toms Skujins (Lat).

United Arab Emirates (UAE) squad: Alessandro Covi (Ita), Davide Formolo (Ita), Ryan Gibbons (SA), Tadej Pogacar (Slo), Jan Polanc (Slo), Oliviero Troia (Ita), Diego Ulissi (Ita).

ProTeams

Alpecin-Fénix (Bel): Silvan Dillier (Swi), Michael Gogl (Aut), Stefano Oldani (Ita), Jasper Philipsen (Bel), Kristian Sbaragli (Ita), Robert Stannard (Aus), Mathieu van der Poel (Ned).

Arkéa-Samsic (Fra): Maxime Bouet (Fra), Nacer Bouhanni (Fra), Romain Hardy (Fra), Kévin Ledanois (Fra), Laurent Pichon (Fra), Clément Russo (Fra), Connor Swift (GB).

Bardiani-CSF-Faizane (Ita): Luca Covili (Ita), Filippo Fiorelli (Ita), Davide Gabburo (Ita), Sacha Modolo (Ita), Luca Rastelli (Ita), Alessandro Tonelli (Ita), Filippo Zana (Ita).

Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli (Italy): Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rou), Umberto Marengo (Ita), Didier Merchan (Col), Jhonatan Restrepo (Col), Filippo Tagliani (Ita), Ricardo Alejandro Zurita (Spa).

Eolo-Kometa (Ita): Vincenzo Albanese (Ita), Davide Bais (Ita), Francesco Gavazzi (Ita), Mirco Maestri (Ita), Samuele Rivi (Ita), Diego Rosa (Ita), Diego Pablo Sevilla (Spa).

Total Energies (Fra): Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor), Maciej Bodnar (Pol), Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita), Daniel Oss (Ita), Peter Sagan (Svk), Julien Simon (Fra), Anthony Turgis (Fra).