News

When the 2022 UCI WorldTour calendar was unveiled, it was announced that the Gree Tour of Guangxi would be the last race of the season. However, the strict Chinese measures against COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the event for the third consecutive year, which has effectively meant that Il Lombardia is finally the last race of the season of the highest category of men's world cycling. Thus, we will attend an amazing closing party, with the best cyclists in the world disputing the fifth and last Monument of the year.

Nicknamed “the classic of the falling leaves” in reference to the autumn time when it is held, Il Lombardia (previously called Giro di Lombardia), was first held in 1905. It is one of the most prestigious races in the world, as we can see on the spectacular list of winners which includes great champions of all times: Henri Pélissier (1913), Costante Girardengo (1919, 1921, 1922), Alfredo Binda (1925, 1926, 1927, 1931), Gino Bartali (1936, 1939, 1940), Fausto Coppi (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954), Felice Gimondi (1966, 1973), Eddy Merckx (1971, 1972), Bernard Hinault (1979, 1984), Sean Kelly (1983, 1985, 1991), Damiano Cunego (2004, 2007, 2008) or Vincenzo Nibali (2015, 2017) are some of those who have succeed at Il Lombardia.

Route

Out of the five monuments of the year (Milano-Sanremo, Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia), Il Lombardia is the one that has varied its route the most. On this occasion, cyclists will go from Bergamo to Como, since the cities of departure and arrival have exchanged roles compared to last year.

The route of Il Lombardia 2022 is 252 kilometers with 4,949 meters of climbing, and includes mountain passes such as Passo di Ganda (9.3 km at 7.1%), Dossena (5.5 km at 4.9 %), or the mythical Madonna del Gishallo (8.7 km at 5.4%). In the final part of the race, two climbs to San Fermo de la Battaglia (2.6 km at 6.6%) and one to Civiglio (4 km at 10.1%) will be decisive for the final outcome. Without a doubt, out of the 5 monuments, Il Lombardia is the one that best suits climbers and grand tour racers.

Favorites

Tadej Pogačar (1200), Jonas Vingegaard (1200), Enric Mas (1200), Adam Yates (1000), João Almeida (1200), Alexandr Vlasov (1200), David Gaudu (1000), Julian Alaphilippe (1000), Romain Bardet (800) or Guillaume Martin (800) are some of the favorites, to which Alejandro Valverde (800) and Vincenzo Nibali (600) should be added. Both have announced that this will be their last race as professional cyclists, and that’s why we wanted to mention them especially. Thank you very much for all these years and good luck in the future!