Inserted for the first time in the Milan-Sanremo route in the 1980s, the Cipressa is an iconic climb of the Classicissima. It begins in San Lorenzo al Mare, passes through the town of Costarainera and ends at the village of the same name. If approached in this sense, the Cipressa is approximately five kilometers long and has an average gradient of around 4%. The last person to have won the Milan-Sanremo by attacking decisively from the Cipressa was Gabriele Colombo in 1996: his attack took away a group of three riders (in addition to himself, Alexandre Gontchenkov, Max Sciandri and Michele Coppolillo) and he then won in via Roma thanks to a finisseur action in the final kilometre.