Overview
Milano-Sanremo Donne
Milano-Sanremo Donne is the women's Monument held each March, running from Milan to the Italian Riviera. First raced in 1999, it shares the coastal finale of its counterpart but compresses the distance into a race that still demands six hours of positioning and survival.
Also known as: Sanremo Women | Primavera Rosa (1999-2005)
Zoulfia Zabirova won twice in three years. Susanne Ljungskog took it in 2001. The race rewards both durability and a sense of when to move.
Race Notes
UpdatedMarch 5, 2026
MarketUnited States
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Why this race matters
This is the only women's Monument that can end in a sprint, but never a straightforward one. The distance alone narrows the field before the Cipressa and Poggio arrive, and those climbs sit late enough to punish anyone who has already spent too much. What remains is a finale among riders who have the legs to survive and the timing to strike when it matters. Lorena Wiebes won in 2025, but the race has also been claimed by Trixi Worrack and Susanne Ljungskog, riders who could handle both the attrition and the acceleration.
Route DNA
The race crosses the Ligurian Alps and descends to the coast, where the real racing begins on the narrow roads west of Imperia. The Cipressa arrives with enough distance remaining to test positioning without guaranteeing selection. The Poggio comes six kilometers from the line, short and twisting, with a descent that can either hold a gap or bring everything back together. Most years the race reassembles before the slight uphill drag to the finish on Via Roma, but the climbs have already decided who has the legs to contest it. The race is won by surviving the distance, reading the moves on the Poggio, and holding position through the descent without burning the match needed for the sprint.
Cipressa and Poggio
The race follows the same final kilometers as the men race, including the Cipressa and the Poggio di Sanremo. These climbs decide whether the race ends in a sprint or a solo attack.
Via Roma finish
The race finishes on Via Roma in Sanremo, sharing the iconic finale with the men Monument. The final straight rewards positioning and sprint timing.
Ligurian coast
The route follows the Italian Riviera coastline, with the dramatic scenery of the Ligurian coast providing the backdrop for the closing kilometers.
Iconic Moments
Most recent winner: Lorena Wiebes
Memorable Editions
1999
The women Primavera begins
The first Primavera Rosa put a women's version of cycling's longest Monument on the map and gave Milan to Sanremo its own early spring narrative.
2025
Wiebes wins the revival
Lorena Wiebes won the first Milano-Sanremo Donne since the race returned, outsprinting Marianne Vos on Via Roma after surviving the Cipressa and the Poggio.
Iconic Victories
Lorena Wiebes
Won the 2025 revival edition with a sprint finish on Via Roma. Her ability to survive the Cipressa and Poggio before outsprinting the field demonstrated the same tension between power and speed that defines the men race.
Zoulfia Zabirova
The only rider to win the original Primavera Rosa more than once (2003, 2004). Zabirova defined the earlier era of the race before it went on hiatus.
Signature Landmarks
Milano-Sanremo Donne shares the most famous finale in one-day racing. The Cipressa, the Poggio, and Via Roma carry over a century of history into the women calendar.
Climb Poggio di Sanremo
The final climb before Via Roma. At 3.7 km, it is the last chance to attack before the sprint. Whoever crests the Poggio first controls the finale.
Climb Cipressa
At 5.6 km, the Cipressa comes 22 km from the finish. It begins the serious selection and sets up the Poggio as the decisive moment.
Finish Via Roma
The finishing straight in Sanremo where the sprint unfolds. The same road that has crowned Monument winners for over a century.
