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News & Racing<\/a><\/p>\n The Dutch champion is the #1 favourite, but last year’s race provides a blueprint for how she can be defeated.<\/p>\n Cor Vos<\/p>\n When the second edition of the women\u2019s Milan-San Remo rolls out of Genoa on Saturday, one rider will stand above all others<\/a> on the startlist. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) is the best sprinter in the peloton and has been for some years now. In fact, Wiebes might just be the greatest sprinter women\u2019s road cycling has ever seen.<\/p>\n Wiebes also happens to be the defending champion at Milan-San Remo after showing last year that the iconic late climbs \u2013 the Cipressa and Poggio \u2013 aren\u2019t hard enough to stop her from winning the Italian \u2018Monument\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, going into this weekend, how are other teams going to prevent Wiebes from winning again and taking the 123rd win of her career?<\/p>\n What happened last year?<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start by reminding ourselves what happened in 2025. Because while Wiebes did win the bunch sprint with relative ease, she almost didn\u2019t get the chance.<\/p>\n The pace was high coming into the Cipressa climb with 27 km to go but there were no real attacks on the climb itself, which was something of a surprise. UAE Team ADQ, FDJ United-Suez, and Lidl-Trek did most of the pacemaking on the front, but Wiebes looked very comfortable the whole way up.<\/p>\n The descent off the Cipressa proved more decisive than the climb. Pauline-Ferrand Pr\u00e9vot (Visma-Lease a Bike) did the initial damage and by the time the descent was over, just 12 riders were left at the front of the race. It did all come back together, though, on approach to the Poggio.<\/p>\n Ceciie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) led most of the way up the climb, for Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. There were a few attacks on the way up, but nothing of any real consequence, leaving Wiebes in a group of around 15 over the top.<\/p>\n That group strung out on the descent but the big move came from Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) with just over 2 km to go, at the bottom of the Poggio descent. At that moment, with no one having any teammates in the group behind to help chase, Longo Borghini got a gap that she very nearly held to the line.<\/p>\n In the end it was only a brilliant effort by Wiebes\u2019 teammate Lotte Kopecky that made the difference. Kopecky bridged to the Wiebes group with 1.5 km to go, came straight to the front, and ultimately caught Longo Borghini inside the final 200 metres. From there Wiebes won the sprint comfortably.\u00a0<\/p>\n So for the teams hoping to prevent a repeat of last year, how might they be approaching Saturday\u2019s race? Let\u2019s run through some options.<\/p>\n An early breakaway?<\/p>\n We\u2019ll almost certainly see an early break (or several) get up the road on Saturday. There\u2019s more than 100 km of mostly flat coastal roads before the climbing begins \u2013 plenty of opportunity for the smaller teams to bank some TV time and dream of a situation like last year\u2019s Omloop Nieuwsblad<\/a>, where the break was given too much leeway.<\/p>\n In reality, it\u2019s hard to see SD Worx-Protime (or the other sprint teams) letting the same happen here, in a race which should be decided in a reduced bunch sprint.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a world in which a large group gets off the front early, and SD Worx-Protime are happy to let it go because they have a few riders of their own up there. That might be one scenario in which Wiebes doesn\u2019t win, but SD Worx-Protime still might, if the likes of Kopecky or Blanka Vas are up there.<\/p>\n Regardless, it feels unlikely the race will unfold in that way. It\u2019s more likely that the best chance of thwarting Wiebes will come later in the race.<\/p>\n There are five climbs in the final 55 km of the race that, in theory, provide the sort of terrain that might be useful for those looking to ride a sprinter out of the wheels. The Tre Capi \u2013 Capo Mele, Capo Cervo, and Capo Berta \u2013 whet the appetite, before the arrival of the Cipressa and Poggio \u2013 the most decisive of the lot.<\/p>\n In reality, and based on what we\u2019ve seen of Wiebes\u2019 climbing in recent years, there\u2019s no reason to suggest that simply riding a high tempo in the bunch on Saturday is likely to dislodge her. The climbs aren\u2019t steep enough, and Wiebes climbs too well (a reminder that Wiebes won Leeuw-Oetingen last week by attacking on the final climb<\/a> and dropping all bar one rider).<\/p>\n A well-timed attack on Saturday\u2019s late climbs though? That might be more effective at shedding Wiebes.<\/p>\n This post is for subscribers only Already have an account? Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n \n \ud83d\udc4dYep![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Matt-de-Neef-150x150.jpg\")
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Wiebes winning the inaugural edition last year.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CORVOS_00037748-050.jpg\")
It’ll take more than one rider for the early break to have an impact on Saturday.Pressure on the climbs?<\/p>\n
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