The climb to Superga is back at the Milano-Torino 2025, and so are the climbers. Those 4.9 km at 9.1% gradient, to be tackled twice, leave no room for doubt: the strongest rider always wins. And for this 106th edition of the world’s oldest classic, identifying the strongest is no easy task.
As usual, UAE Team Emirates-XRG starts as the favorite, relying on the experience of Adam Yates – 2nd in 2017, 3rd in 2019, and again 2nd in 2021, the last time the race finished at the Basilica – and the freshness of Isaac Del Toro, who shined at Tirreno Adriatico while supporting team leader Juan Ayuso.
Also watch out for Tudor, arriving in Rho with plenty of firepower. In 2023, the Swiss team celebrated their first-ever win in this race with Arvid De Kleijn. Marc Hirschi will be on the squad; he stayed under the radar at Tirreno Adriatico and may not be the best fit for Superga’s climb (he finished 3rd in Salassa last year). Also at the start Michael Storer, 5th overall and a stage winner at Paris-Nice, and the young Marco Brenner, who kicked off 2025 in great form.
Another team with multiple leaders is XDS Astana, featuring defending champion and Italian national champion Alberto Bettiol, who may work for his teammates since the route doesn’t quite suit his strengths. The main contenders for the Kazakh team should be Harold Tejada, a solid 8th at Paris-Nice, and Lorenzo Fortunato, who showed improvement at the Tirreno Adriatico. And don’t forget veteran Diego Ulissi, winner at Superga way back in 2013.
Speaking of past winners, Michael Woods, the 2019 champion, will lead Israel-Premier Tech alongside George Bennett, who once won in Barolo at the GranPiemonte, just ahead of Ulissi. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) didn’t shine at Tirreno-Adriatico, but underestimating him would be a mistake—just as with Einer Rubio and Davide Formolo (Movistar), both of whom could thrive on Superga’s steep slopes.
One rider who did show form at Tirreno Adriatico is David De La Cruz, 8th overall, who will lead Q36.5 alongside Matteo Badilatti. Tobias Halland Johannessen will be the leader for Uno-X Mobility.
Among the outsiders, keep an eye on Steff Cras and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Jefferson Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost), Iván Sosa (Equipo Kern Pharma), Kevin Vermaerke (Team Picnic PostNL), Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty), Giovanni Carboni (Unibet Tietema Rockets), and young talents Alessandro Pinarello (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) and Jørgen Nordaghen (Visma | Lease a Bike).
