Annemiek van Vleuten's push for Women's Milan-San Remo - " No reason why we women couldn't race 200 or 250 kilometers"

Milan-San Remo is a well-known cycling competition in Italy that features on the UCI schedule, but at present, it is exclusively for male cyclists. Annemiek van Vleuten is campaigning to include it in the women's event, and the organizers have shown interest in the idea.

“We definitely need a Milan-San Remo for women. It must therefore be the longest one-day race ever in women's cycling," van Vleuten told Cyclingnews. “It should be a real challenge in terms of distance, including the final with Cipressa and Poggio. It must be really bizarre long, like the men's competition.”

Even though she has a preference for longer races, it's important to note that UCI guidelines limit women's races to 170 kilometres. Nonetheless, she advocates for a change in these regulations. “It has to be the longest course, and from there they can build and make it longer every year. There's no reason why we women couldn't race 200 or 250 kilometers. Let's start with 200 kilometers. That is already something new and makes it interesting.”

Organizer RCS has acknowledged that they are currently developing the route and anticipate launching it next season. “We imagine that the women's race will be held on the same day as the men's race, but on a different route. Probably from Arenzano to San Remo,” CEO Paolo Bellino told Bici Pro .