The Poggio: Why Descending is so Important at Milan-San Remo

After 300 kilometres, the race was hardly decided. 

Julian Alaphilippe made the decisive move on the infamous Poggio climb during Sunday’s pandemic-rescheduled edition of Milan-San Remo. Wout van Aert was the only racer whose legs could muster the fire power required to follow the Frenchman. 

From the top of the climb, the finish line is still 5 kilometres out. The first half of that distance is the winding Poggio descent—about 2 kilometres at a -5% gradient—-and the rest is a flat road along the beach.

 If you want to win Milan-San Remo via attacking on the Poggio, you have to get the descent right. There are a number of factors that complicate an escaped rider’s chances at perfecting the Poggio’s hairpins. 

Let’s start from the top. When Alaphilippe attacks, he is likely going full gas. A near-max effort attack makes a racer tired, especially after 300 kilometres in the saddle. Fatigue combined with an increased heart rate is going to become a problem when the racer must become intensely focused on the descent. 

Alaphilippe’s adrenaline will already be spiked from the attack, and the descent will spike his adrenaline even more. 

Now, let’s take a look at the descent itself. There are about eight hairpin switchbacks and a series of sweeping corners. Because of the relatively shallow gradient, the racers will be pedalling or supertucking in between the corners. Vincenzo Nibali’s Strava segment KOM of the descent clocks the Italian riding 35 miles-per-hour. 

A view of the Poggio’s hairpin descent which features in the finale of Milan-San Remo.

The hairpins are the most important thing to get right. The general technique is to set up on the far side of the road, dive inside through the “apex” of the corner, and exit the corner with as much speed as possible. Most of the racer’s braking will be done before entering the corner, and the rider should try not to brake while in the middle or exit of the corner. There are myriad exceptions to the past two sentences, but that is generally the most effective technique. 

A racer must get the braking exactly right. Too little braking results in too much speed, and the racer risks crashing or having to slam on the brakes to correct their trajectory. Too much braking and the racer is going too slow, and the chasing riders will gain an advantage. 

To sum up, fatigue and adrenaline combined with a need for precision braking and handling skills at high speed make the Poggio descent extremely challenging—but also vital for a successful attack. 

Of course, van Aert caught Alaphilippe on the descent, and the duo went to the line together with a chasing peloton in pursuit. The Belgian did the majority of the work, with the Frenchman trying to launch out of the slipstream in the final metres. Wout van Aert brought too much power, though, adding Milan-San Remo to his previous win at Strade Bianche one week prior.