Why I chose this pro-event

1. It is “La Classicissima”. It is the longest of the Spring Classics (288 km) and it is the first one of the 4 Classics in Spring. 
2. It opens the spring season: “La primavera”. It always occurs on the Saturday closest to March 19, “San Giuseppe”, that  indicates the arrival of Spring.
3. Beautiful Scenic Route. The last 120 km are along the Italian Riviera from Varazze to Sanremo. When the peloton hits the coast, in Liguria, it creates a colorful serpentine through the windy coastal route with the sea on one side and tall cliffs on the other side. 
4. It is the race that every pro sprinter, who wants to be part of the “history”, wants to win. 

What part of the stage I will ride

The last 110-120 km are along the Aurelia (the coastal route), which is also the main and only road that connects the towns along the coast. For this reason, the Aurelia cannot be closed to the traffic for hours prior to the arrival of the peloton. Usually they close the roads around 45 minutes prior to the pass of the pros. 

So, even if, ideally, we would like to start from Varazze or Spotorno, to enjoy a ride along the coast without traffic, we would not arrive on time where the key spot to watch the race is located. 

Instead, we will ride what is called the “Mini Milano-Sanremo” which is the last 50 km of the race route. 

We will start from Imperia, follow the beautiful cycle-path along the coast for 2.5 miles.
Then, from San Lorenzo, we will take the Cipressa climb. It is the first of the two last hills of the Milano-Sanremo and was introduced to the route in 1982. There will already be tons of fans lined up along the side of the road. After descending the Cipressa we will re-take the cycle path up to Bussana.
From Bussana, we will ride on the Aurelia to take the climb of the Poggio, the last hill of the race before the final sprint into Sanremo. It was included to the route in 1960.
We will stop on the steepest part of the Poggio.

Where to watch the pros

There are two options. 

1. Looking at the history of this race, most of the time, it has been decided by a final sprint of a break-away on the last straightaway from the finish line.
   If watching the final sprint to catch the “win” moment is what will make this event memorable then go very early, on Via Roma, and place yourself 300 meters before the finish line. 
2. Nibali, in 2018, won attacking on the Poggio, consolidating his break-away on the descent. Even if the steepest part of the Poggio is not above 8%, the pros will still come by a little slower than on flat. So there is a better chance to watch them closer and (if we are lucky) to witness a decisive attack.
   For this reason, we will stop and wait for the race to come by on the steepest part of the Poggio at km 2.5 from the bottom.

Why not watching the race from the top of the Cipressa? 
Because it is very unlikely that the winner will be decided on the Cipressa. After the descent, there are still 10 km on flat before the start of the Poggio. Therefore, there is a great chance, for a break-away, to be caught by the peloton just before the last climb.
The last pro to win the Milano-Sanremo, attacking on the Cipressa was Gabriele Colombo in 1996.    

The Climbs

Both climbs are medium climbs. The Cipressa is 5.6 km long and has 4.1% average grade. The steepest short part is at ~8%. See profile here

The Poggio is 3.6 km long and has 3.8% average grade. The steepest part is around km 2 and it is at 7.9%. The profile is here

Where to stay 

A little outside Sanremo, Aregai Marina has just become a Bike Hotel in Santo Stefano al Mare (IM). Davide Cassani was at the grand opening this past Saturday March 2.

In Sanremo. 
I live in Sanremo, but while I was waiting for my house to be built, I stayed at: 

1. Airbnb Casa Camilla in Via Gaudio 35 – Central Location – Private Garage near by where you can also park your bikes
2. Airbnb kaDevi holiday home
3. If you prefer full service in a 4 stars Hotel: Best Western Hotel Nazionale

Where To Rent a Bike

Amici Bici: Katharine has great high-end road bikes and she offers great services.

If you do note have a climb as long try hill repetitions on the same one with short intervals in between. For examples, if your repetition is 4-6 minutes each, rest only for 2-3 minutes in between.

If you do not have a climb as steep, use harder gear ratio on the one available. 

If you do not have hills at all, use indoor power bikes. They have awesome inventory of different routes and climbs to simulate indoor. 

How to Train for this event

Rule 1. Build your aerobic base. You need to be able to ride at least 40-60 km, comfortably, keeping your HR in the aerobic zone. What is your aerobic zone? It is between 65% and 80% of your Max HR. If you don’t know how to calculate or assess your max HR read here

Rule 2. After you have a base, start training on a spcific terrain similar to the one of the event. You always need to “simulate” your event while training.

Rule 3. Train “progressively”. If you are not trained to climb for 5-6 km at those grades, start with a shorter and/or less steep hill and progressively add length and/or grade each week. Start, for example, with a 3-4 km long hill with 2-3% grade and then every 1-2 weeks climb for longer or climb more than one hill and then progressively climb steeper hills.