Milano – Sanremo

The Milan-Sanremo is a race in the male line of professional road cycling, one of the most important cycling races on the international circuit and the first great classic in the cycling calendar season.
Known as the Spring Classic or Classicissima, is the most important and famous one-day race that takes place in Italy and, with a length of 298 km.
The idea to carry along the route Milan-Sanremo was a running competition to the members of the Union Sportive Sanremese. The competition was held April 2, 1906, on two stages (Milan-Acqui and Acqui-Sanremo), with the awards’ Marcia Milano-Sanremo “and” Race for the Record of kilometers. ”

The race was a partial failure. So it was that the following year the journalist Tullo Morgagni, who had already launched the Tour of Lombardy, had the idea to use the path for a bike race. Submitted the project being considered by the director of the Gazzetta dello Sport, Eugenio Costamagna. Despite some misgivings, Costamagna entrusted the project to one of the largest organizers of cycling competitions, Armando Cougnet. The April 14, 1907 was held the first edition of the Milan-Sanremo cycling. At the meeting, the inn Fallata Milan, along the Naviglio Pavese, showed up thirty-three of the sixty-registered runners. The day was rainy and cold, and was won by the French Lucien Petit-Breton, under contract with the Whites, who completed the 281 kilometers of the route at 26.206 km / h on average.