BUONGIORNO FROM THE 105th MILANO-SANREMO RACE 2014 CLASSICISSIMA NOW UNDERWAY

Milan, 23 March 2014 – The 105th Milano – Sanremo, organised by RCS Sport/La Gazzetta dello Sport, the first of the five Monuments of the 2014 international cycling season, started under grey skies this morning in Milan, Italy. At 10.05, the peloton of 200 riders passed kilometre 0 (Via della Chiesa Rossa). Starters included tthe winners of 6 previous Milano – Sanremo: Germany’s Gerald Ciolek (2013), Australia’s Simon Gerrans (2012), Mark Cavendish (2009) from the Isle of Man, Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara (2008), and the Italians Filippo Pozzato (2006) and Alessandro Petacchi (2005). Also among the provisional starters are: the Slovak Peter Sagan, the Germans André Greipel and John Degenkolb, the Belgian Phillippe Gilbert, the Norwegians Edvald Boasson Hagen and Thor Hushovd, Taylor Phinney of the United States of America, the French rider Arnaud Demare, Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski and the Italians Vincenzo Nibali, Moreno Moser and Diego Ulissi. WEATHER Milan (race start, 10.00 hours CET): cloudy, 10.6°C. Wind: weak - S 4 kph. Passo del Turchino (km 143,5, 13.30 CET): rain, 9.5°C. Wind: weak - SE 8 - 9 kph. Cipressa (16.00 hours CET): rain, 10.4°C. Wind: Weak - N 16 - 24 kph. Sanremo (race finish: 17.00 hours CET): scattered showers, 12.7°C. Wind: moderate - NNW 10 -18 kph. RACE ROUTE The race route has been confirmed, with the Passo del Turchino just before the halfway point, the three Capi (Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Capo Berta) in quick succession around the 250 km mark, and then the famous climbs: the Cipressa (km 272: 5.65 km long, ave. gradient 4.1%, max. 9% - first incorporated into the race route in 1982) and Poggio di Sanremo (km 287.9: 3.7 km long, ave. gradient 3.7%, max. 8% - first incorporated into the race route in 1961). The new race route is the same as that used in 2007, when Oscar Freire won the Milano - Sanremo. AROUND THE RACE Milano-Sanremo has been part of Italian popular culture since 1907. It is indelibly linked to some of the great moments in 20th century Italian history. By way of example, the 1946 Milano-Sanremo took place the day after King Victor Emmanuel III, too compromised by his earlier support of Mussolini to play any part in post-war Italian politics, announced his

intention to abdicate. 24 hours later, Fausto Coppi, that giant of Italian sporting history, launched a 150 km solo attack that led to victory in the 37th Milano-Sanremo by no less than 14 minutes. Given the huge period of time before the arrival of the second-placed rider, the radio commentator Niccolò Carosio fell back on a time-honoured broadcaster’s ruse, introduced by this immortal piece of sports commentary: ‘First across the line, Fausto Coppi. And now, while we wait for the other riders to finish, here is some light music!’ In the collective memory, the birth of the modern Italian Republic is intimately associated with Fausto Coppi’s extraordinary performance that day. Record wins: The record-holder for Milano-Sanremo wins is Eddy Merckx, who won a remarkable 7 editions of the race (1966, 1967,1969, 1971,1972, 1975, 1976). SANREMO History: Once the Roman settlement of Matutia, or Villa Matutiana, Sanremo expanded in the early middle ages when the town moved to higher ground, and built a castle and the walled village of La Pigna, to protect the town from Saracen raids. Other sports: Sanremo hosts major annual tournaments in a wide range of sports, including golf, sailing, triathlon, clay pigeon shooting. In particular, Sanremo is historically associated with motorsport, poker, and, of course, cycling. Motorsport: Juan Manuel Fangio won his first European Grand Prix in Sanremo-Ospedaletti in 1949. The Sanremo Rally, first held in 1928, is part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally championship. A historic Rally is held in Sanremo each April, for the Coppa dei Fiori. Poker: Sanremo hosts an annual poker tournament as part of the European Poker Tour, and is widely accepted as the origin of a variant form of five-card stud called Telesina or Teresina. Festivals and flowers: Founded in Roman times, the city is a well-known tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. As well as the Milano-Sanremo, the town hosts the extremely popular Sanremo Music Festival (strictly speaking, the Sanremo Festival of Italian Song, held each spring since 1951, on which the Eurovision Song Contest - first held in 1956 - was modelled). Sanremo is known as “La Cittá dei Fiori” - the City of Flowers - due to important aspect of the economy of the city. Flowers from Sanremo adorn the annual Nobel Prize Award Ceremony and Banquet in Stockholm in memory of Alfred Nobel, who spent his last years in Sanremo, and died there in 1896. LIVE TV AND INTERNET STREAMING The 2014 Milano-Sanremo will be broadcast in 154 countries around the world. In Italy, the 2014 Milano-Sanremo is live on RaiSport 2 from 13.40 Central European Time, and simultaneously on Rai3 from 15.05 CET, with live streaming at www.raisport.it It is also live on Eurosport International from 14.00 CET. There are real-time updates and

analysis at www.gazzetta.it Live TV coverage starts at 14.30 Central European Time. In addition to RaiTre, RaiSport 2 and Eurosport International, the 2014 Milano-Sanremo will be shown around the world by VRT, RTBF, FORTA (TV3, TVG, TPA, EITB), NOS, SRG SSR, Sky Sports 2, beIN Sports, Al Jazeera, SuperSport, Sportsnet, RDS, TDN, Eurosport Asia-Pacific, Sony SIX, TrueVisions, J Sport, SBS, FOX Sports, Sky Sport (New Zealand). Info: SHIFT Active Media Matteo Cavazzuti RCS Sport cycling press office Ph. (+44) 01225 448333 Ph.: (+39) 348 5838779 E-mail: matteo.cavazzuti@shiftactivemedia.com Tw.: @Shiftactive - @MatCavazzuti

RCS Sport Stefano Diciatteo RCS Sport press office coordinator Ph.: (+39) 02 25848758 Mob.: (+39) 335 5468466 E-mail: Stefano.diciatteo@rcs.it Tw.: @rcssport - @stedicia