Tre Capi

The Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta are three short hills which mark the start of the final run-in, warming the legs for the Cipressa and Poggio to come.

With 50km remaining, none of the climbs pose a significant challenge to the pro peloton, but with 240km in the legs already and the threat of the Cipressa and Poggio to come, it’s not a place you want to be if your form is not 100 per cent.

The Capo Mele has the steepest average gradient – 5.2 per cent over 2.5km of climbing – while the Capo Berta has a steepest point of eight per cent.

Cannondale DS Fabrizio Guidi once told Strava: “If your legs are bad here, your day is over.” And that’s before we get to the two iconic climbs to come.

Vital statistics

Capo Mele (2.5km at 5.2 per cent average gradient)
Capo Cervo (2.5km at 4.1 per cent)
Capo Berta (3km at 4.3 per cent)

Poggio

The Poggio was first introduced to the race in 1960, and while the climb itself is nothing special by pro cycling standards it has become a pivotal part of Milan-San Remo.

It’s bare statistics – 3.6km at 3.7 per cent average gradient – fail to take into account the 285km already raced and the frantic speed of the bunch as the Via Roma approaches.

Add to that riders desperate to make an attack stick, and to foil the sprinters, and you have an Italian climb almost as mythical as Alpine giants like the Stelvio, just without the hairpins and thigh-numbing gradients.

The last race-winning attack over the Poggio was at the snow-battered, re-routed 2013 edition, where a six-rider move went clear on the descent before Gerald Ciolek snatched a surprise victory.

The proximity of the finish line to the bottom of the climb on the current route throws even more attention to the descent too, with sweeping blind turns to navigate at a rapid pace.

Vital statistics

Distance: 3.6km
Average gradient: 3.7 per cent