Granfondo Milano-Sanremo: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The start is at Settala, east of Milan, at a little over 100 metres. The first 150 kilometres cross the plains of Lombardy and Piedmont with virtually no gradient, and 54 percent of the whole course counts as flat. This is not a place to climb but a place to position yourself.

The transition begins at kilometre 152, where the Colle del Giovo rises 5.7 kilometres at 2.7 percent to the high point of the route at 524 metres. It replaces the Passo del Turchino, which the organizers removed because of persistent problems with the road. After the descent and two short climbs at kilometres 172.8 and 179.3, the course reaches the sea at Genoa and follows the coast westwards.

The finale is familiar from the professional race. Between kilometres 253.9 and 266.8 the three Capi stack up, Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta, each 2.5 to 3 kilometres at 4 to 5 percent. The Cipressa follows at kilometre 280.3 over 5.6 kilometres at 4.1 percent for 226 metres, and the Poggio di Sanremo at kilometre 298.2, 3.7 kilometres at 3.5 percent, less than 4 kilometres from the finish on Corso Salvo d'Acquisto. As a point-to-point route the day ends some 96 metres lower than it began.

Pacing Strategy

This race has an unusual profile: not one climb averages more than a good 5 percent, only 2 percent of the course counts as steep, and yet roughly 2,900 metres of climbing accumulate. The load comes from duration, not from gradient. Ten to fourteen hours in the saddle make every miscalculation of the first half visible in the finale.

The first 150 kilometres across the Po plain are a group race. Without a draft, that section costs enough substance to make the Capi unrideable later. Find a group at a matching pace early and stay in it, even when it feels too slow.

The day is decided from kilometre 254. The three Capi come in quick succession, each harmless on its own, but in series and after 250 kilometres exactly where groups fall apart. The Cipressa and the Poggio that follow are less a climbing test than a test of how much you saved on the flat. The classic trap is taking turns on the front across the plain simply because it feels easy.

Training plan for Granfondo Milano-Sanremo: 12-week build

For 307 kilometres, plan on ten to fourteen hours of riding depending on your level. That makes this an ultra-distance project first and a climbing race only second: the effort is steadily aerobic at low intensity for long stretches, with eight short climbs all clustered in the second half.

Preparation lives or dies on duration. Build your longest ride to seven to nine hours over the months, and include at least one session that approaches race day in time. Beyond ten hours, back, neck, hands and saddle comfort become limiting long before the legs do, so position and equipment belong in the training plan alongside intervals.

The last 55 kilometres decide the race. The Capi, the Cipressa and the Poggio ask not for extreme climbing form but for the ability to ride 8-to-20-minute ascents under control after 250 kilometres. Build sessions that reproduce exactly that: long rides that deliberately end with a series of short, moderate climbs rather than a wind-down.

Because more than half the course is flat and ridden in a bunch, long group rides with rotations belong in the preparation. And at this duration fuelling is a discipline of its own: practise 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour across many hours, along with fluid volume and electrolytes for a June day that can be considerably hotter on the Po plain than on the coast.