A young Henri Pelissier (Fra) carried his momentum into Milan after winning the Giro di Lombardia at the close of the 1911 season.
The riders rolled out from Milan just before 6 am. The eighty starters rode in a compact peloton with only punctures and crashes slowing the early pace of the race.
In Ovada (113 km into the race / 289.3 km), the peloton remained intact.
Attacks began on the climb of the Passo Turchino (131 km / 289.3 km), the pace split the field. A selection of thirty riders led by Gustave Garrigou (Fra), Giovanni Micheletto (Ita), Luigi Ganna (Ita), and Dario Beni (Ita) stretched the peloton into a single file. Garrigou passed over the summit first.
A major separation occurred on the dangerous descent.
After the Turchino:
When the race reached the Ligurian Coast, the dry and dusty roads caused visibility issues in a strong wind.
In Voltri (164 km / 289.3 km), Beni, Henri Pelissier (Fra), Leonardo Torricelli (Ita), and Oscar Egg (Sui) led the race, but the time gap was not yet significant.
On the Ligurian Coast in Arenzano (170 km / 289.3 km), the first regrouping of the peloton happened. Aggressively the situation changed with Micheletto, George Tribouillard (Fra), and Emile Georget (Fra) in lead. Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra) and Garrigou were closing quickly. Chasing Ganna crashed, and Carlo Galetti (Ita) suffered another puncture, both riders lost contact with the leaders.
In Diano Marina (258 km / 289.3 km), the lead group was seven: Enzo Corlaita (Ita), Pelissier, Garrigou, Christophe, Georget, Masselis and Andre Blaise (Bel).
Corlaita rode up the Capo Berta and dropped Georget and Christophe from the group. The breakaway was now five riders.
In Oneglia (263 km / 289.3 km), while chasing the leaders, Georget suffered a puncture and had to stop for repairs. A tired Christophe lost contact and surrendered to the fast pace.
The five leaders roared into the finish and for the first time M-SR would be decided by a group sprint!
The powerful Alcyon-Dunlop team, with four of the five riders in final group, easily controlled the sprint. Frenchman Henri Pelissier easily sprinted past Alcyon teammate Gustave Garrigou (Fra) for the M-SR victory.
