The fourth 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 race Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports in ...

took place on 3 April 1910. Frenchman

Eugène Christophe Eugène Christophe (born Malakoff, Paris, France, 22 January 1885, died in Paris, 1 February 1970) was a French road bicycle racer and pioneer of cyclo-cross. He was a professional from 1904 until 1926. In 1919 he became the first rider to wear ...

won the event, more than one hour ahead of his first pursuers. The race gained a place in cycling legend because it was run in dreadful weather. Riders needed to take refuge in the houses along the roads from a severe

snowstorm A winter storm (also known as snow storm) is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In Continental cl ...

. Only four of 63 riders finished the race.

Summary

63 riders started the race 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 ...

at 6 a.m., when news broke that heavy snow fell on the Turchino, prompting some riders to return home immediately. Cyrille Van Hauwaert, winner of the 1908 race, broke away and had a 3-minute lead over

Octave Lapize Octave Lapize (; 24 October 1887 – 14 July 1917) was a French professional Bicycle road racing, road racing cyclist and track cycling, track cyclist. Most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France, 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal a ...

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 ...

and Ernest Paul when they reached

Ovada Ovada (''Uà'' and ''Guà'' in Ligurian, ''Ovà'' in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 11,484 inhabitants in the Province of Alessandria in the northern Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south ...

was in fifth place at 10 minutes. As the weather deteriorated, only thirty riders were still in the race by

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 ( ; ; ) ...

and were forced to walk and shoulder their bikes up the climb. At the top of the Turchino, after five hours of racing, Van Hauwaert was still in the lead, followed by Christophe at 10 minutes, Paul at 19 minutes and Ganna at 22. Van Hauwaert crashed in the snowy descent, sought refuge in a cottage and, when warmed up, refused to continue his way. Meanwhile, Eugène Christophe, after being refreshed as well, continued his way in a pair of long pants, and set off in pursuit of the new leaders

Pierino Albini Pierino Albini (16 December 1885 – 12 March 1955) was an Italian racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, ...

and Luigi Ganna. By

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

Christophe had taken the lead, followed by Ganna at 15 minutes and Albini at 26. Christophe again stopped to eat and cut his pants that had become entangled in his chain. Christophe won, even though he thought he had taken a wrong road and did not realize he was the first to reach

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 ...

. Christophe finished the race in 12 hours and 24 minutes, the slowest in history.

, the previous year's winner, finished second at 39' 30", but was disqualified for having taken a car. After the race, Christophe needed to be hospitalized for frostbite to his hands and further body damage from the cold. He spent a month in a Sanremo hospital and it took another two years before he recovered to his original health.

Results

Just four riders were officially listed. Two more riders reportedly finished after the classified four, but the officials had already gone home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1910 Milan - San Remo Milan–San Remo Milan - San Remo, 1910

Milan - San Remo 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 ...

Summary

Results

Further reading

References