PREVIEW | Trofeo Lagigueglia 2025 - Can Juan Ayuso or Antonio Morgado take the win for UAE?

On the 5th of March the Trofeo Laigueglia is on the road. Plenty races in Italy will follow in the coming weeks at the highest level, and this one-day race will provide a warm-up for classics specialists and climbers. We preview the race ahead.

The race in Laigueglia has into account just over 200 kilometers and will not only be a test of endurance but climbing prowess. The riders will take on a circuit towards the end which they will ride four times. Each of them will include the Colla Micheri (1.9Km at 8.6%) which is less than 9 kilometers away from the finish line and should be enough for the race to explode completely.

The riders will also climb the famous Capo Mele, part of the Milano-Sanremo route, in this final circuit and it will be the final ascent before the very fast downhill finish into the town of Laigueglia.

A race where everyone will save themselves for the final circuit and once we get there, UAE and Astana will battle each other right from the start. It's a circuit where you want to get ahead and then take advantage of chaos and confusion. The climbs are not long but they are steep, and in such terrain an in-form Juan Ayuso can make the difference - whilst Morgado has shown equally that on climbs such as this he's got an incredible power. Christian Scaroni is the only rider I see being able to directly match them, whilst others will require great tactics to fight for the win.

*** Juan Ayuso, Christian Scaroni
** António Morgado, Michal Kwiatkowski, Neilson Powless
* Ewen Costiou, Lukas Nerurkar, Magnus Sheffield, Louis Barré, Filippo Zana, Davide de Pretto, Alberto Bettiol, Diego Ulissi, Fabio Christen, Michael Storer

Pick: Juan Ayuso

How: Attack on the final steep climb and solo win.