New and custom tech at the men’s Milan-San Remo 2025

Alex Hunt

Late March has rolled around but somehow it feels like the season has only just got started, and the Tour Down Under just days ago. This weekend marks the first of the Monuments in 2025, with Milan-San Remo opening proceedings. While recent editions have enjoyed pleasant spring weather, this year it was far from sunshine and short-sleeved jerseys at the start in Pavia. The forecast rain had delivered and the sound of inflating and deflating tyres soundtracked the paddocks.

Before the race got underway, we had time to take in the tech being used for the longest one-day race on the Men’s WorldTour calendar. The consensus across teams was that nothing, beyond tyre pressure, had been changed from the planned setups had the race started under sunnier skies.

One thing that was striking walking around the paddocks was just how many teams were leaving watts on the table. Teams using waxed chains were the underwhelming minority compared to those running oiled chains. Given the wet course, this could lead to significant efficiency losses when the race got spicy on (or before) the Poggio.

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To 1X or not to 1X, that is the question

A single Carbon-Ti chainring was the configuration chosen by 2022 winner Matej Mohorič and teammate Fred Wright.

Although Milan-San Remo is often defined by attacks on the uphill gradients of the Cipressa and Poggio, there is no denying that the race is fast throughout. The average speeds on the climbs rarely see anything south of 35 km/h (22 mph) with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) exceeding 50 km/h (31 mph) during their assault on the Poggio last year.

Eventual winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) averaged 46.11 km/h for the 288 km race last year, begging the question of whether a double chainset is really necessary. If the start of the race is anything to go by, both teams and individual riders cannot agree. Previous winner Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) and teammate Fred Wright decided to use a single , Using Carbon-Ti chainrings as Shimano does not officially offer a 1X setup.

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), another favourite for ‘La Classicissima’ this year, decided to run a single chainring along with other SRAM-sponsored athletes like Jonathan Milan and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike). Given that SRAM offers a 1X solution, the number of riders that had decided to stick with a traditional double chainset appeared high considering the nature of the race.

New wheels from Vision

It is hard to tell from a glance but Italian brand Vision looked to be debuting a set of unreleased wheels at Milan-San Remo. Both EF-Education Easy Post and Arkéa-B&B Hotels had a limited number of riders using wheels labelled as Metron 45 RS. The black decals make it hard to spot at first, but upon closer inspection, the wheels look to use carbon fibre spokes.

The new wheels are marked up as 45 mm deep and the spokes are clearly carbon fibre when viewed up close. The Metron 45 RS looks to be Vision’s first carbon-spoked wheelset.

Beyond the carbon fibre spokes it is hard to tell what is new to these wheels, however, it is fair to assume we won’t be waiting too long for more details now that these wheels are out in the open.

Movistar spotted with unreleased Fizik shoes

The rain at the start in Pavia meant most riders were kitted out with overshoes to keep themselves warm and dry before racing got underway. One rider who opted out, though, was Movistar’s Iván García Cortina. Heading off to sign on, he was seen wearing a new shoe from team sponsor Fizik.

The shoe looks to wrap around the foot with the upper wrapping underneath, and very little in the way of the outsole.

The shoe’s upper looks to wrap around under the foot with minimal outsole material beyond the cleat mounting area.

Compared to Fizik shoes of old, the new model also looks to be a lot straighter in its profile, deviating from the more curved shape that has become typical from the Italian brand. The white shoes García Cortina wore went without any branding except for a small Fizik logo on the rear of the shoe.

Bianchi Oltre RC 140 Anniversario Limited Edition

Aside from the aesthetics of the Oltre RC itself, the colourway for the 140th anniversary of Bianchi is stunning.

2025 is a special year for the Italian bike brand Bianchi. It marks 140 years since the company was founded, making it the oldest bike brand in the world still in business. To celebrate this illustrious milestone the brand has released an anniversary edition of the Oltre RC and Specialissima RC with 140 frames of each available to the public.

The marbled paint is a work of art that has a hypnotic depth to it and makes the paint look as if it is still liquid.

Arkéa-B&B Hotels premier rider Kévin Vauquelin was presented with one to ride at Italy’s highest profile one-day race. The bike sports a marbled dark green colourway with hints of the carbon fibre beneath peaking through. This finish extends onto the seat mast and a small logo celebrating the brand’s anniversary on the seat tube.

If you are Tom Pidcock, aero apparently isn’t everything

Scott-sponsored Q36.5 have both the Foil RC and the Addict RC at their disposal. Considering the race profile and the speed at which the Cipressa and Poggio are tackled, it would make sense to ride the most aerodynamic bike you have at your disposal.

Will Pidcock be able to ride this bike to better his 11th-place finish last year?

Pidcock, who made a valiant late attack last year on the Via Roma before settling for 11th in the bunch kick, has decided that the Addict RC is the right bike for him, even if most of his teammates made the more obvious choice to use the Foil.

Most of the Q36.5 team was riding to the start on the Scott Foil, arguably the more logical choice for a race like Milan-San Remo.

It appears to be the bike that Pidcock prefers outright, having used it at Strade Bianche and the majority of his race days across the early season stage races where he’s found himself at the pointy end.

A single 54-tooth chainring was Pidcock’s chosen setup for Milan-San Remo, pairing it with a 10-33 cassette to give him all the range he needs. Keeping in line with the latest trend, Pidcock is also running 165 mm cranks.

Pidcock bucked the trend of his Q36.5 teammates and decided to use the Addict RC over the Foil RC. With 28 mm Vittoria tyres, 165 mm cranks and a 54-tooth one-by configuration, the bike is packed with current tech trends.

John Degenkolb uses monster chainrings and super-long cockpit

56/44 chainrings are a wise call for a race that averaged more than 46 km/h last year. If it comes to a bunch sprint Degenkolb will be hoping he is in a position to put that 56×11 to work.

Of all the rider’s bikes I managed to get up close and personal with, the winner from a decade ago had one of the most aggressive setups. A 56/44 chainset is a clear sign that the German veteran is expecting a fast race and could be preparing himself for a sprint finish in San Remo.

This lengthy cockpit would have been more common a few years back, but now 140+ mm stems are few and far between.

At the front of the bike, Degenkolb is running this enormous integrated cockpit from Lapierre. It isn’t so often that you see 140+ mm stems being used these days but it does make the bike look incredibly aggressive and ready for the fireworks that are bound to come in the finale.

Uno-X Mobility finally get integrated cockpits for the new Noah Fast

When we first got to see the new Noah Fast from Ridley at the Women’s Tour Down Under, one thing stuck out like a sore thumb on such an obviously aerodynamic bike: the cockpit. At the time, the entire team was running a two-piece configuration that left a lot to be desired in terms of wind-cheating efficiency.