Milan-Sanremo 2025 favorites: two Italians to challenge Pogacar. The 10 names to watch

Bologna, 21 March 2025 – Una Milan San Remo 2025 of stellar level. Saturday 22nd March the first of the monument classics and by tradition it is the turn of the Italian roads, the Classicissima. The almost 300 kilometres of the race will be summed up in the finale, with the double Cypress-Poggio which will serve the sprinters to try to avoid the final sprint, on the other side the sprinters will try to stay in the slipstream to return to via Roma and propitiate a group sprint. The beauty of the unpredictability of the Sanremo: it can end in any way. We have summarized here the ten possible protagonists of the first spring classic.

Tadej pogacar

Part with the gallons of great favorite, but he has never won this race. The only chance he has is to leave everyone behind on the Poggio and fly alone on Via Roma, because he starts the sprint beaten. His progression says fifth, fourth and third in the last three years and he wants to close this circle too. To win the Classicissima for the first time.

Mathieu van der Poel

He won it in style in 2023, when there was a stellar quartet on the Poggio also composed of Pogacar, Ganna and Van Aert, but he unleashed a few more watts and arrived alone on Via Roma. In 2024 he finished tenth after helping his teammate Philipsen to win.

Jasper Phillipsen

He won last year and a sprint finish could reward him. He is a complete rider, who can hold his own on the Poggio, but he is coming from a fall and his condition needs to be calibrated. He is not injured, just bruised, but to beat these phenomena you need to get to 100%.

Filippo Gana

Second in 2023, beaten only by Van der Poel, Ganna arrives in great shape at Sanremo and aims for the big target. Tirreno Adriatico has refined her preparation, with a great leg even uphill and with a surprising third place finish. She is fine, she just needs to find the right tactics in the final.

thomas pidcock

The British rider has had a great start to the season, winning two stages at the Saudi Tour, with the general classification, and a stage at the Vuelta Andalucia. Among the Monument Classics, however, the Sanremo is the one that suits him the least and in fact he has never finished in the top ten. He should escape on the Poggio, because he has no chance in the sprint.

Matej Mohoric

He often expresses himself well at Sanremo. He has four top tens under his belt, including one victory in 2022. He is the classic man who can vary the score, with particular actions, outside of the ordinary tactics and therefore surprising for his opponents. Never underestimate Mohoric, especially in the descent of the Poggio, decisive for the success three years ago.

Maxim Van Gils

The young Red Bull Bora rider is a credible candidate among the outsiders, among those riders who start in the second row but who are not to be underestimated. A stage victory at the Vuelta Andalucia in 2025 and a seventh place a year ago at the Sanremo. That placement places him rightfully among the possible protagonists.

jonathan milan

The sprinter from Tolmezzo has always dreamed of Sanremo and in this early 2025 he has been a great protagonist of the sprints. A stage at the Comunitat Valenciana, two stages at the UAE Tour and two stages at the Tirreno Adriatico. He must stay with the big names on the Poggio, or break away by a little, then in the sprint he can have his say.

Mads pedersen

In his brilliant career he lacks a Monument Classic. Numerous top ten placings (second and third in Flanders, fourth and third in Roubaix) and in Sanremo he has often been a protagonist without winning. The placings of the last three editions say it: sixth, sixth and fourth. It is the second precious card for Lidl.

Julian Alaphilippe

He is no longer the same as he once was, but a former winner of the Sanremo should be mentioned among the favorites. He won in 2019, but in general he likes the Classicissima with even a third and a second place. In 2024, after two editions outside the top ten, he came ninth. Who knows, maybe he can find a spark. Read also - Milan-Torino, Del Toro wins