It was held on 17 March over a shortened distance of 246 kilometres (152.9 miles),[1] and was the fourth race of the 2013 UCI World Tour season.

[3] Heavy snowfall and bad weather forced organisers to shorten the race from 298 kilometres (185.2 miles) to 246 kilometres (152.9 miles) eliminating two key climbs – the Passo del Turchino and Le Manie – and arranging a bus transfer, for the race to begin a second time.

After Boonen's team-mate Sylvain Chavanel and Team Sky rider Ian Stannard had led a reduced peloton over the summit of the final climb, the Poggio di San Remo, a group of six formed on the descent from the Poggio, including pre-race favourites Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and 2008 winner Fabian Cancellara of RadioShack–Leopard.

Originally, eighteen ProTeams were invited to the race, with seven other squads given wildcard places,[7] and as such, would have formed the event's 25-team peloton.

Originally admitted to the event as a wildcard, Team Katusha subsequently regained their ProTour status after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.