the press

BUONGIORNO FROM THE 105th MILANO-SANREMO
RACE 2014 CLASSICISSIMA NOW UNDERWAY
Milan, 23 March 2014 – The 105th Milano – Sanremo, organised by RCS Sport/La Gazzetta
dello Sport, the first of the five Monuments of the 2014 international cycling season, started
under grey skies this morning in Milan, Italy.
At 10.05, the peloton of 200 riders passed kilometre 0 (Via della Chiesa Rossa).
Starters included tthe winners of 6 previous Milano – Sanremo: Germany’s Gerald Ciolek
(2013), Australia’s Simon Gerrans (2012), Mark Cavendish (2009) from the Isle of Man,
Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara (2008), and the Italians Filippo Pozzato (2006) and
Alessandro Petacchi (2005).
Also among the provisional starters are: the Slovak Peter Sagan, the Germans André
Greipel and John Degenkolb, the Belgian Phillippe Gilbert, the Norwegians Edvald Boasson
Hagen and Thor Hushovd, Taylor Phinney of the United States of America, the French rider
Arnaud Demare, Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski and the Italians Vincenzo Nibali, Moreno
Moser and Diego Ulissi.
WEATHER
Milan (race start, 10.00 hours CET): cloudy, 10.6°C. Wind: weak - S 4 kph.
Passo del Turchino (km 143,5, 13.30 CET): rain, 9.5°C. Wind: weak - SE 8 - 9 kph.
Cipressa (16.00 hours CET): rain, 10.4°C. Wind: Weak - N 16 - 24 kph.
Sanremo (race finish: 17.00 hours CET): scattered showers, 12.7°C. Wind: moderate NNW 10 -18 kph.
RACE ROUTE
The race route has been confirmed, with the Passo del Turchino just before the halfway
point, the three Capi (Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta) in quick succession around
the 250 km mark, and then the famous climbs: the Cipressa (km 272: 5.65 km long, ave.
gradient 4.1%, max. 9% - first incorporated into the race route in 1982) and Poggio di
Sanremo (km 287.9: 3.7 km long, ave. gradient 3.7%, max. 8% - first incorporated into the
race route in 1961). The new race route is the same as that used in 2007, when Oscar
Freire won the Milano - Sanremo.
AROUND THE RACE
Milano-Sanremo has been part of Italian popular culture since 1907. It is indelibly linked to
some of the great moments in 20th century Italian history. By way of example, the 1946
Milano-Sanremo took place the day after King Victor Emmanuel III, too compromised by his
earlier support of Mussolini to play any part in post-war Italian politics, announced his
intention to abdicate. 24 hours later, Fausto Coppi, that giant of Italian sporting history,
launched a 150 km solo attack that led to victory in the 37th Milano-Sanremo by no less
than 14 minutes. Given the huge period of time before the arrival of the second-placed rider,
the radio commentator Niccolò Carosio fell back on a time-honoured broadcaster’s ruse,
introduced by this immortal piece of sports commentary: ‘First across the line, Fausto Coppi.
And now, while we wait for the other riders to finish, here is some light music!’ In the
collective memory, the birth of the modern Italian Republic is intimately associated with
Fausto Coppi’s extraordinary performance that day.
Record wins: The record-holder for Milano-Sanremo wins is Eddy Merckx, who won a
remarkable 7 editions of the race (1966, 1967,1969, 1971,1972, 1975, 1976).
SANREMO
History: Once the Roman settlement of Matutia, or Villa Matutiana, Sanremo expanded in
the early middle ages when the town moved to higher ground, and built a castle and the
walled village of La Pigna, to protect the town from Saracen raids.
Other sports: Sanremo hosts major annual tournaments in a wide range of sports,
including golf, sailing, triathlon, clay pigeon shooting. In particular, Sanremo is historically
associated with motorsport, poker, and, of course, cycling. Motorsport: Juan Manuel
Fangio won his first European Grand Prix in Sanremo-Ospedaletti in 1949. The Sanremo
Rally, first held in 1928, is part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian
national rally championship. A historic Rally is held in Sanremo each April, for the Coppa dei
Fiori. Poker: Sanremo hosts an annual poker tournament as part of the European Poker
Tour, and is widely accepted as the origin of a variant form of five-card stud called Telesina
or Teresina.
Festivals and flowers: Founded in Roman times, the city is a well-known tourist
destination on the Italian Riviera. As well as the Milano-Sanremo, the town hosts the
extremely popular Sanremo Music Festival (strictly speaking, the Sanremo Festival of Italian
Song, held each spring since 1951, on which the Eurovision Song Contest - first held in
1956 - was modelled). Sanremo is known as “La Cittá dei Fiori” - the City of Flowers - due to
important aspect of the economy of the city. Flowers from Sanremo adorn the annual Nobel
Prize Award Ceremony and Banquet in Stockholm in memory of Alfred Nobel, who spent his
last years in Sanremo, and died there in 1896.
LIVE TV AND INTERNET STREAMING
The 2014 Milano-Sanremo will be broadcast in 154 countries around the world.
In Italy, the 2014 Milano-Sanremo is live on RaiSport 2 from 13.40 Central European Time,
and simultaneously on Rai3 from 15.05 CET, with live streaming at www.raisport.it
It is also live on Eurosport International from 14.00 CET. There are real-time updates and
analysis at www.gazzetta.it Live TV coverage starts at 14.30 Central European Time. In
addition to RaiTre, RaiSport 2 and Eurosport International, the 2014 Milano-Sanremo will be
shown around the world by VRT, RTBF, FORTA (TV3, TVG, TPA, EITB), NOS, SRG SSR,
Sky Sports 2, beIN Sports, Al Jazeera, SuperSport, Sportsnet, RDS, TDN, Eurosport AsiaPacific, Sony SIX, TrueVisions, J Sport, SBS, FOX Sports, Sky Sport (New Zealand).
Info:
SHIFT Active Media
Matteo Cavazzuti
RCS Sport
Stefano Diciatteo
RCS Sport cycling press office
Ph. (+44) 01225 448333
Ph.: (+39) 348 5838779
E-mail: [email protected]
Tw.: @Shiftactive - @MatCavazzuti
RCS Sport press office coordinator
Ph.: (+39) 02 25848758
Mob.: (+39) 335 5468466
E-mail: [email protected]
Tw.: @rcssport - @stedicia