Milan-San Remo becomes Abbiategrasso to San Remo for 2023

This year’s Milan-San Remo will become Abbiategrasso to San Remo after race organisers were forced to move the start from central Milan to the small town that sits 25km west of the Lombardia capital.

The race will still officially be known as Milan-San Remo, just as Paris-Roubaix retains its original name despite starting from Compiègne and not the French capital.

Cyclingnews understands that the start of Milan-San Remo was forced out of the city centre due to a number of reasons, including a limited number of traffic police available on Saturday March 18.

Local authorities and traffic police have apparently prioritised the Stramilano half marathon event on Sunday March 19 and are apparently unable or unwilling to provide the road closures and police needed to ensure Milan-San Remo leaves the city centre safely on Saturday morning.

Women's Milan-San Remo planned for 2023

Matej Mohoric wins Milan-San Remo with daring Poggio descent

Mohoric: I've destroyed cycling, now everyone will use a dropper post

Abbiategrasso is part of the wider Metropolitan city of Milan and sits 25km to the west of the city centre, close to the border between the Lombardy and Piedmont regions.

Milan-San Remo is traditionally the longest monument on the calendar and RCS Sport has confirmed it will retain a similar distance.

New maps and race information provided by RCS Sport show a race distance of 294 km with the new race route rejoining the traditional Milan-San Remo route near Pavia after 30km.

The race route will again climb the Passo del Turchino before dropping down to the Mediterranean coast in Genoa. The final part of the race will include the short coastline climbs before the often decisive Cipressa and Poggio climbs in the final 30km.

Matej Mohoric won Milan-San Remo in 2022 , using a dropper seatpost to lower his position on his bike and so distance his rivals on the descent of the Poggio.

Plans for the return of a women's edition of Milan-San Remo have apparently been delayed until 2024.

Cyclingnews will have full live coverage of the race, a detailed race report and gallery, followed by news, interviews and analysis.