The Milan-San Remo is the longest classic on the World Tour circuit and, with the 2016 event being the 107th edition of the race, also one of the most historic. This year it will be contested on the 19th March and The Spring Classic looks as open as ever with many of the world’s top road cyclists heading to Italy to try and win the first major classic of the season. We take a brief look at the history of the race, as well as considering who is likely to challenge this season, offering race analysis, predictions, betting tips and live odds comparison.

Our live odds comparison is a very useful tool, especially in an event such as the Milan-San Remo where the list of possible winners is quite long. The best odds on the various contenders can differ significantly from one bookmaker to the next but our odds comparison makes finding the best betting odds quick and easy. By only ever betting at the best available prices you increase your overall profitability by maximising value, so whether you think it will be King Kristoff, Captain Cavendish or Super Sagan, be sure to check out our Milan-San Remo live odds.

The outright winner betting is currently headed by Alexander Kristoff and the Norwegian is available at best odds of 9/2 with Sky Bet. The 28 year old rides for Katusha and over the past couple of seasons has been a serial winner of big one-day races, including the Milan-San Remo in 2014 and the Tour of Flanders in 2015. He also won a further three races last season and as a sprinter and Classics specialist he has to be respected.

The Milan-San Remo, which was first raced way back in 1907 certainly tends to favour the sprinters as, despite the race being very long at almost 300km, the route is largely flat. Belgian legend Eddy Merckx has won the race a record seven times and it is home riders who have dominated overall, with Italian cyclists winning an impressive 50 Milan-San Remos, including four wins by different cyclists between 2002 and 2006.

That said, Filippo Pozzato’s win for Quick-Step-Innergetic back in 2006 was the last home success, with German John Degenkolb winning last year. Degenkolb won’t be defending here though after he was one of six members of his team to be hit by a car in training in Spain.

Kristoff was the runner-up last year, going so close to defending his title but it is the man that finished third in this race 12 months ago who we predict will taste glory in La Classicissima di primavera this season. Our main betting tip for the outright winner of the 2016 Milan-San Remo is something of an outsider, priced at best betting odds of 10/1 with Ladbrokes but we think the Aussie Michael Matthews is more than capable of springing a surprise in northern Italy.

Matthews is available at the same odds as Manxman Mark Cavendish with some firms, although “Cav” is available at 14/1 with BetVictor but whilst the Manx Missile’s best days are behind him, the future looks bright for Matthews. The Canberra-born 25 year old rides for Orica–GreenEDGE and with stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta, as well as race wins in the Clásica de Almería and the Vuelta a La Rioja, he knows what winning feels like. Double digit odds are just too good to turn down and we think Matthews is the value pick ahead of the likes of Peter Sagan (5/1 with Sky Bet) and Nacer Bouhanni (15/1 with Bet365).

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