Italy has a long and storied history in cycling. After soccer, cycling is considered one of the national sports and is deeply connected to Italian culture. Milan-San Remo is one of these Italian sporting ‘monuments’. I was privileged to be commissioned for two years to design the poster for the centennial of ‘La Classicissima’, the longest (288 km) and oldest of the Spring classic races. The first edition was held in 1907 and is the longest one-day cycling race.
The course runs through Northwestern Italy between Milan and San Remo and is regarded as the pinnacle of the prestigious Spring classics. It is a race of speed and endurance and an exercise in energy conservation that culminates in a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat sprint. Legendary Eddy Merckx has won it the most times on 7 different occasions! Because it’s a Spring Classic, it can run the gamut in weather conditions, as it did in 2013 when the race endured snow and sub-zero temperatures.
The two editions of this poster were won by Michal Kwiatkowski, the first Polish winner in a 3-up sprint who narrowly beat Peter Sagan. The other winner was Italian Grand Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali, who managed to ride into San Remo ahead of a fast-approaching pack.
