Milano-Sanremo Women 2026 preview, profile, favourites & predictions - Can Lorena Wiebes defend 2025 title?
Cycling
On the 21st of March, the women's peloton will go through the first monument of the season: Milano-Sanremo Women. The race ends in Sanremo with the climbs that make it famous and provide an opportunity for the sprinters in the peloton to win their own big classic. We take a look at its profile.
The race was first held in 1999 with Sara Felloni taking the win and was held all the way into 2005 where it was then removed from the calendar. In 2025 it finally made a return and a successful one, with Lorena Wiebes taking the win over the veteran Marianne Vos in Sanremo.
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Profile: Genova - Sanremo

Genova - Sanremo, 156 kilometers
The women's Milano-Sanremo, or in literal terms 'Genova Sanremo' lacks the early part of the men's route in the Italian monument, however features all of the decisive features and climbs that makes the historical event so special.
The peloton will ride through the Ligurian coast all day long and will be taking on the Tre Capi before the ascents to Cipressa and Poggio di Sanremo. In the women's peloton, these climbs can have a bigger impact, too.
Cipressa (5.7Km; 4.1%) comes with 22 kilometers to the finish and afterwards, after a flat run-in, the riders go up the Poggio di Sanremo (3.7Km; 3.8%) which ends with a mere 5.6 kilometers to go. The technical descent leaves the riders with a mere 1.5 kilometers to go where a sprint finish or an isolated attack can both take place.
The late withdrawals of pre-race favourites Elisa Longo Borghini and Marianne Vos has made it a more manageable task for SD Worx' Lorena Wiebes, who will also have an in-form Lotte Kopecky backing her up to potentially defend her title.
Prediction Milano - Sanremo Donne 2026:
*** Lorena Wiebes, Kim Le Court
** Lotte Kopecky, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Elisa Balsamo
* Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Berthet, Charlotte Kool, Puck Pieterse, Niamh Fisher-Black, Cat Ferguson, Chiara Consonni
** Lotte Kopecky, Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Elisa Balsamo
* Cédrine Kerbaol, Juliette Berthet, Charlotte Kool, Puck Pieterse, Niamh Fisher-Black, Cat Ferguson, Chiara Consonni
Pick: Lorena Wiebes
How: Small groups sprint.
Original: Rúben Silva
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He was a child two years ago
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughie
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - Let Torito have a shot at it
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horrible. Montaner is also used in the U23s, in Giro del Belvedere
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
- Good Point, I wonder if he's been testedmhfrvz03-11-2026
- A busy boy!Lozza03-11-2026
- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
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