Milan-San Remo Women LIVE – Wiebes the favourite as a large breakaway leads ahead of the climbs

The breakaway are on the climb with an advantage of 45 seconds. Kingma has been caught.

2026-03-21T12:24:58.285Z

UAE Team ADQ, Picnic-PostNL and Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto are in a drag race on the front of the bunch ahead of the Capo Berta, which is the steepest climb of the day.

2026-03-21T12:23:36.544Z

Kingma is still dangling in front of the bunch, which is heading through San Bartolomeo Al Mare.

2026-03-21T12:18:52.136Z

The breakaway are on the descent now. It’s 7km until the last of the Tre Capi, the Capo Berta.

2026-03-21T12:17:52.462Z

FDJ United-SUEZ have come to the front for the first time now. Wollaston is sitting second wheel on the Capo Cervo.

2026-03-21T12:15:40.862Z

There was an attack off the front by Maya Kingma (Aromitalia Vaiano). She holds a small advantage over the bunch.

The break is on the easiest climb of the race. It all serves to wear down the fast riders ahead of the Cipressa and Poggio.

2026-03-21T12:12:47.708Z

Lotte Kopecky takes a trip back to the car on this descent, which tells you how easy the bunch is going.

The gaps is down to 1:25.

2026-03-21T12:11:19.405Z

The riders are on the descent of the Capo Mele now. The Capo Cervo follows quickly.

2026-03-21T12:10:26.724Z

The gap to the front is coming down on the climb. It’s now 1:45 back to the peloton, which is not going full gas on the Capo Mele.

2026-03-21T12:09:28.022Z

Cat Ferguson thinks that it will be one for the sprinters today, especially given the withdrawal of Elisa Longo Borghini.

“I think this year’s edition has changed day by day as we’ve found some girls are not taking to the start such as Longo Borghini and also Vos yesterday. So I think we can probably expect maybe a bit of a calmer race, more likely to be a sprint today,” she said ahead of the start before being asked about her promising form. Movistar are all-in for the British rider today.

“For today we just go for me unless my legs are bad or something and then we change the plan. I am the sole leader for now.”

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The breakaway have begun the first climb

2026-03-21T12:04:50.772Z

Gerritse’s job is done now, an impressive effort. It’s now Marta Lach on the front for SD Worx-ProTime.

2026-03-21T12:04:10.187Z

Fenix-Premier Tech are showing some interest at the front now. They have a sprint option in Charlotte Kool, who is looking good this year after a tough couple of seasons, and they have Puck Pieterse to go on the attack.

2026-03-21T12:02:56.910Z

Just 5km to go before the Capo Mele, which is just 1.6km at 4.8%, but is quickly followed by Capo Cerva and Capo Berta.

2026-03-21T12:01:17.535Z

How long will the breakaway survive once the climbs start?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T11:59:54.382Z

SD Worx-ProTime, Visma-Lease a Bike and Liv-AlUla-Jayco are all pushing on now ahead of Capo Mele.

The gap is down to 2:05

2026-03-21T11:59:03.442Z

Victoire Berteau, Ema Comte, Nikola Nosková (all Cofidis) and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) were held up in the crash.

There has been a crash towards the back of the peloton with several riders down

2026-03-21T11:57:34.477Z

Ally Wollaston is having a good season, and is hoping to get over the climbs to compete for the win for FDJ United-SUEZ. Here’s what she had to say before the start when asked to compare Milan-San Remo with Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, which she won earlier this year.

“I think the climbs today are quite a bit longer [at San Remo} than in Cadel’s. And obviously the field is one of the strongest fields here today. So yeah, I think it’s the same, but different. Hopefully racing with the same mentality to just be there in the final.”

And on a potential sprint battle with Wiebes:

“We’ll see. I’m feeling somewhat confident. I just would really love to be there and just give it a good crack. I feel like so many times in races I make it to the final and I’m already wasting too much energy. So the goal for me today would just to be there as fresh as I can and then hopefully give it my best go in the sprint and just be smart and conservative. I need to get to the finish line in the first group first.”

2026-03-21T11:54:05.905Z

Several teams are looking interested in getting to the front now to position themselves, with multiple trains at the head of the bunch.

20 seconds has been chopped off the gap.

2026-03-21T11:51:11.006Z

Mechanical issue for Kasia Niewiadoma.

2026-03-21T11:49:44.680Z

Eleonoroa Deotto, in the breakaway of nine, is the youngest rider in the race today. She turns 19 in August.

2026-03-21T11:46:18.243Z

The riders have 15km to ride until they get to the Capo Mele.

2026-03-21T11:44:29.315Z

It’s still Gerritse on the front for SD Worx-ProTime, she has done the lion’s share of the work today.

Liv-AlUla-Jayco and EF Education-Oatly are massed towards the front of the group, but it is the Dutch superteam that is taking responsibility to control the race.

2026-03-21T11:42:52.075Z

The breakaway has been working well together so far. How will things shake out as we hit the climbs?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The gap to the front group has come down to 2:45

2026-03-21T11:37:26.401Z

Hashimi and Berteau have finally been caught by the bunch.

Still four minutes of an advantage for the leaders. We are 25km away from the first climb of the day, the Capo Mele.

2026-03-21T11:34:25.908Z

Lotte Kopecky was speaking to media ahead of the start today in Genoa.

“It felt really good,” she said of her win earlier this week at Nokere Koerse. “It’s what we work for and why we ride our bikes, just to win races. It’s not that easy, but it was very welcome last Wednesday.”

“I think the mental aspect should not be underestimated. You are still really motivated to win, but with so much less pressure and that makes it so much easier.”

On the absence of both Vos and Longo Borghini:

“First of all I hope that Marianne and her family is okay. The fact that Longo Borghini is out sick, I think changes a lot in this race. I think everybody was expecting UAE to make it a really hard race and go full gas on the Cipressa. Now this maybe changes a little bit, so I’m very curious.”

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T11:27:47.688Z

The gap is now out to four minutes, with Berteau and Hashimi just a minute ahead of the peloton

2026-03-21T11:25:48.859Z

Femke Gerritse has been doing a lot of the work today for her SD Worx-ProTime team-mates Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T11:18:49.943Z

The leaders are cruising to a lead of 3:42 now.

Hashimi and Berteau’s chase looks like a lost cause. They are 2:19 behind now.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T11:13:33.127Z

Hashimi has had a problem and is no longer with Berteau.

The peloton are 3:40 behind the leading nine.

2026-03-21T11:12:05.092Z

Some interesting names to consider in those front two groups.

Ragusa and Franza are both experienced breakaway riders. And don’t forget Hashimi’s efforts during the Olympic Road Race in Paris, she has a big engine, while Berteau is a track rider who could add significant fire power.

2026-03-21T11:09:36.992Z

Behind them, a chasing duo are trying to get across.

Afghan national champion Fariba Hashimi (Vini Fantini-BePink) and Victoire Berteau (Cofidis) are around 90 seconds behind the leaders.

2026-03-21T11:08:22.821Z

There are nine riders at the front of the race:

Eleonora La Bella (Aromitialia Vaiano)
Constance Valentin (Mayenne Monbana My Pie)
Sofia Arici (Vini Fantini – BePink)
Katia Ragusa (Human Powered Health)
Lara Crestanello (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria)
Heidi Franz (St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93)
Sara Luccon (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo)
Bodine Vollering (VolkerWessels)
Eleonora Deotto (Team Mendelspeck E-Work)

Their gap has been revised to just over two minutes

2026-03-21T11:04:55.457Z

If the group at the front gets too large, this could get messy for the big teams when it comes to the finale.

We’ll get the full list to you of who is at the front when it comes through.

The gap has ballooned out to the front of the race now. The peloton are around 3:30 behind with another group in between.

2026-03-21T11:01:03.847Z

A larger group has joined up with the leaders. There are now ten at the front of the race. Katia Ragusa of Human Powered Health is there.

2026-03-21T10:59:40.415Z

The riders are about a third of the way through the race. The leaders still have a small advantage.

2026-03-21T10:58:06.017Z

What of Lidl-Trek today?

The German team comes in with Elisa Balsamo as their big hope, should she manage to get over the Cipressa and Poggio with the leaders. Balsamo is without a win so far in 2026.

The diminutive Niamh Fisher-Black should act as the team’s best attacking option.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T10:54:08.059Z

Valentin is the most senior among the leaders at 28 years of age. She rides for French ProTeam Mayenne Monbana My Pie and was 5th in the French National Championships last year.

The trio are still out front with a small lead

Finally, an attack gains a few seconds advantage over the peloton. The riders in the move are:

Eleonora La Bella (Aromitialia Vaiano)
Constance Valentin (Mayenne Monbana My Pie)
Sofia Arici (Vini Fantini – BePink)

The leaders have around 20 seconds over the bunch.

2026-03-21T10:44:02.858Z

Cofidis’ former French champion Victoire Berteau has been among those trying to get away in the first hour of racing

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T10:41:52.525Z

We’re one hour into the race and there is still no breakaway

2026-03-21T10:41:10.686Z

Let’s have a look at some of the outsiders for the race today, riders who don’t spring to mind at first, but could spring a surprise later on.

Monica Trinca Colonel has taken a big step forward in 2026, finishing second overall at the UAE Tour. She is a rider who will be able to follow most attacks on the Poggio, she will be difficult to drop.

Young British rider Josie Nelson start the year off brilliantly in Australia. She has a fast sprint after a hard day and could be one to watch if the likes of Wiebes are distanced. Picnic-PostNL have Pfeiffer Georgi as their first option, but Nelson could be used as a sprinting option.

Another rider who went well Down Under was Sarah van Dam. With Vos missing, the Canadian becomes Visma-Lease a Bike’s primary option.

Dominika Wlodarczyk will surely either make a move herself, ot try to go with the best when they attack on the later climbs.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T10:31:16.524Z

The riders just passed through the town of Cogoleto and are now on a 2km drag, the biggest climb of this opening 100km.

2026-03-21T10:28:00.462Z

The riders will hug the coastline for the entirety of the race today

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Several riders have tried to get away, but the big teams are being strict today and nothing is sticking yet.

2026-03-21T10:20:24.836Z

SD Worx-ProTime and EF Education-Oatly are among the teams already attentive towards the front of the race.

The American squad has last year’s third-placed rider Noemi Rüegg to lead the line today. The Swiss won the Tour Down Under early in the season and was 8th at Trofeo Alfredo Bind last week. She has the perfect combination of climbing skills and speed to do well today.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T10:11:10.864Z

A few lumps and bumps in the road over the next 15km. A chance for the break to go?

2026-03-21T10:08:01.284Z

Movistar Team ahead of the start this morning. Could Cat Ferguson take a breakthrough result in San Remo later today?

Still all together as the riders leave the outskirts of Genoa

2026-03-21T10:02:47.015Z

Race organisers RCS re-launched this race last year after a 20-year hiatus. Now, they have their sights set on creating a new women’s version of Il Lombardia, but there are several barriers.

No movement yet in the bunch

2026-03-21T09:49:16.687Z

Here is the peloton a few moments ago before the start in Genoa, fronted by a raft of national champions competing today.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2026-03-21T09:47:19.690Z

The returning form of Belgian superstar Lotte Kopecky is a worrying sight for many in the peloton. The SD Worx-ProTime rider won Nokere Koerse earlier this week and looked close to her best. What can she do today?

The race is underway

2026-03-21T09:40:19.378Z

UAE-Team ADQ have been one of the teams of the season so far, but how will they get on without their leader Elisa Longo Borghini?

Her exclusion could create an opportunity for Polish rider Dominika Wlodarczyk, who is a prime candidate for an attack on the Poggio. The 25-year-old was 4th at the Tour Down Under in January and looked good in support of Longo Borghini at Strade Bianche. She could be a dark horse to watch today.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The riders are rolling out of Genoa on their way to the start proper in about five minutes.

2026-03-21T09:33:19.740Z

Milan-San Remo is one of the simplest and also the most mysterious races of the year. SD Worx-ProTime will look to control things for Wiebes and Kopecky, but that’s no simple task.