Milano-Sanremo 2024 LIVE – Attack-filled finale sees sprinter Philipsen the photo-finish winner from Michael Matthews, with Pogacar third

NEUTRAL START - THEY'RE LINING UP BEHIND THE CAR IN PAVIA

And we've just joined the company of Carlton Kirby for the (my) first time this season. Which is very nice.

There's 5.6km to KM0 where the official commencement of proceedings will take place, and it's Mathieu van der Poel who leads the way, in his rainbow stripes and (Adam Blythe approved) white shorts. This isn't Paris-Roubaix or Strade Bianche where a rider might regret such a decision - just good clean tarmac all the way to Sanremo.

Here's the journey the 175 riders will be taking today. If this isn't your first rodeo, it should look pretty familiar to you but it's also not an exact replica of last year's route.

After last year's departure from Abbiategrasso, this year the start is even further out of central Milan, some 44km south in the town of Pavia. That doesn't mean the race is 44km shorter, however, as the route heads east for a bit before turning south towards the town of Tortona.

After that it's as you were, with the Turchino climb signalling the entrance to the coastline cruise that leads all the way to Sanremo. What a day we have in store.

Hello and welcome to live, end-to-end, coverage of the single longest day in the cycling calendar. It's known as "the easiest race to finish, the hardest to win" - but try telling seven-time champion, Eddy Merckx, that.

It's certainly a race that has evolved over the year's and is no longer the nailed-on sprinters classic. In fact it's been quite a while since we've seen a big bunch finish on Via Roma. The smart money says the winning move will be made on the Poggio, after some six hours - or thereabouts - of economical racing. The devil is in the detail.

Who can use their energy most efficiently? Who will time their attack to perfection? Who will hold off the baying mob behind? We'll find out in due course.