The monument races are a hallowed time for fans of professional cycling, with the five ‘Monument’ races being the centrepiece of the season and the ones every pro wants to win.

In 2015 it will be making it’s 106th appearance as a professional cycling race, making it one of the oldest races in the peloton.

Unsurprisingly for an Italian race across the coasts of Northwest Italy, the race has been won by an Italian rider 50 times, with Belgian Eddy Merckx winning the season’s first monument 7 times throughout his illustrious career.

The 2015 route, on 22 March, will be the same as 2014 long taking in iconic mountains such as the three capi – Mele, Cervo and Berta – as well as the Poggio, which features 6.1km before the end and is often where the race is won and lost.

The 2015 edition will not include to Pomeiana climb which has been ruled unsafe due to frequent landslides and flash flooding. The race director Mauro Vegni said that he wanted to include the climb to tempt big General Classification riders like Chris Froome and Alberto Contador, but the route will not feature the climb in 2015.

The only two Britons to win Milan-San Remo are Tom Simpson in 1964 and Mark Cavendish in 2009. Last year’s winner was Katousha’s Alexander Kristoff after he sprinted to victory after catching Vincenzo Nibali on the climb of the Poggio.

Riders to look out for are the classics specialists, such as Tom Boonen – who finished second in the 2010 edition, and Fabian Cancellara who won the race in 2008 and has finished in the top three for the past four editions.

The exclusion of the Pomeiana climb means that more sprinters will fancy their chances, with riders such as Peter Sagan and Kittel potentially targeting the race to kick off their season.

The race is notorious for it’s changeable conditions, so expect to see a variety of road cycling gear on display. The race often features at least wind and rain, with the occasional snow storm or sunny spell to keep the riders on their toes. Modern carbon fibre road bikes are much lighter so expect the wind to play a bigger role in 2015.