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Coppa Bernocchi - GP Banco BPM, Tre Valli Varesine, and Gran Piemonte are the last three men's Italian races before Il Lombardia, and many of the contenders in "the race of the falling leaves" will participate in one or more of these races. The goal: to test their level against their main rivals on Italian soil before the big event on Saturday.

Coppa Bernocchi - GP Banco BPM: route and favorites

The route of Monday’s race features a circuit in the central part where the riders will do 7 laps, including the climb up Piccolo Stelvio (1.6 km at 6.2%). After 7 laps, they exit the circuit to face the final 22 km downhill to the finish in Legnano. In total, the race covers 174 kilometers with 1900 meters of positive elevation.

With just three days to go, the start list for the race is still very preliminar. For the moment, Remco Evenepoel (1200) and a strong UAE Team Emirates team including Marc Hirschi (600), Tim Wellens (400), Pavel Sivakov (400), Filippo Baroncini (200), and Jan Christen (200) stand out.

Tre Valli Varesine: route and favorites

Tuesday's race is clearly tougher than Monday's, with a route of 198 km and 3300 meters of positive elevation, making it a better test for Il Lombardia. The race is also held on a circuit, which in this case includes two climbs, Salita dei Ronchi (1.9 km at 5.3%) and Montello (1.9 km at 5.3%), and that adds the Barasso climb (0.9 km at 7.8%) in the last two laps.

The big favorite will be Tadej Pogačar (1200), who will only race in this event out of the three. As with the Coppa Bernocchi, the starting list is still very uncertain, making it difficult to mention other contenders. For now, Thomas Pidcock (800) and Enric Mas (1000) are the most prominent rivals for Pogačar.

Gran Piemonte: route and favorites

On Thursday, Gran Piemonte is the final race before Il Lombardia, but since it is just 48 hours away from the last monument of the year, many of the favorites usually skip this race. Moreover, the 182 km route with 1650 meters of positive elevation has little in common with what riders will face on Saturday.

Favorites for victory should be found among fast men who handle climbs well, like Kaden Groves (1000), Michael Matthews (600), Iván García Cortina (400), Matteo Trentin (600), or Alex Aranburu (800), or puncheurs who could win a reduced sprint like Marc Hirschi (600), Richard Carapaz (800), Corbin Strong (600), Toms Skujins (400), Tobias Halland Johannessen (600), or Vincenzo Albanese (400). Other riders like Matej Mohorič (800), Filippo Ganna (800), or Nelson Powless (600) will have to look to go solo if they want the win.

Photo: © Gran Piemonte