The second running of the

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

cycling classic The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

was held on 5 April 1908. The race was won by Belgian Cyrille Van Hauwaert. 14 of 48 starters finished the race.

Race report

The race was affected by miserable weather, with gusty winds and freezing rain from start to finish. The dramatic state of the roads contributed to the harshness of the race, causing several punctures and mechanical failures. A small group of riders, containing all key contenders, broke clear on the Passo del Turchino. In

Masone Masone ( or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about northwest of Genoa. Masone borders the following municipalities: Bosio, Campo Ligure, Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) ...

five of them remained: Belgian Cyrille Van Hauwaert, Italians Rossignoli and Galetti, and French riders Pottier and Lignon. In

Finale Ligure Finale Ligure (, locally ; ) is a ''comune'' on the Gulf of Genoa, in the province of Savona, in Liguria, Italy. It is considered part of the Italian Riviera. Part of its historical center ("Finalborgo") is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("Th ...

Van Hauwaert dropped his last companion Lignon and powered on solo to the finish. In the background

Luigi Ganna Luigi Ganna (1 December 1883 – 2 October 1957) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He was the overall winner of the first Giro d'Italia, held in 1909, as well as the first Italian winner of the classic Milan–San Remo earlie ...

André Trousselier André Trousselier (29 May 1887 – 10 April 1968) was a French footballer who played as a Goalkeeper for Racing Club de France, and a racing cyclist, who won the 1908 edition of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Sporting career Cycling career In ...

and

Augustin Ringeval Augustin Ringeval was a French cyclist of the early 1900s. He was born in Aubigny-aux-Kaisnes in 1882. Among other competitions, he participated in his first Tour de France in 1905. He went on to participate in many other Tours until 1913, He d ...

had set off in pursuit. Ganna approached quickly, but Van Hauwaert remained his lead until the finish in

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

. Van Hauwaert had traveled by bike from Belgium to the start in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, by means of training. In

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

he was joined by several French riders, including

, who accompanied him to Milan.

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1908 Milan - San Remo Milan–San Remo Milan - San Remo, 1908 1908 in Italian sport April 1908 sports events in Europe