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Il Lombardia is the last big race of the year and the only one of the five monuments that takes place in autumn, as Milano-Sanremo, Ronde Van Vlaanderen, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are all contested in spring. Il Lombardia (traditionally called the Giro di Lombardia) has a special idiosyncrasy. Apart from the autumn atmosphere, which fully justifies the nickname "the race of the falling leaves," the Italian race is also notable for being the monument best suited to climbers, making it particularly attractive for this type of rider.

Course

In recent years, the start and finish cities have alternated annually, and this year the race goes from Bergamo to Como. In total, cyclists will have to cover 252 kilometers and more than 4800 meters of positive elevation gain. Among the eight categorized climbs, the iconic Madonna del Ghisallo (8.1 km at 3.7%), Colma di Sormano (13.1 km at 6.5%), and San Fermo della Battaglia (2.8 km at 6.7%), which is crested just 5 km from the finish, stand out.

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Anything other than a victory for Tadej Pogačar (1200) would be considered a major surprise. The Slovenian, who showed spectacular form in last weekend's Giro dell’Emilia, has the chance to cap off a season that, even without winning Il Lombardia, should be regarded as one of the best in the sport's centennial history.

Other candidates can be found among strong climbers such as Remco Evenepoel (1200), Enric Mas (1000), Giulio Ciccone (1000), Jay Hindley (800), Alexandr Vlasov (1000), Simon Yates (800), Matteo Jorgenson (1000), Romain Bardet (800), David Gaudu (800), Pello Bilbao (800), Michael Woods (600), Lenny Martinez (600), Antonio Tiberi (800), Florian Lipowitz (600), Thomas Pidcock (800), or Daniel Felipe Martínez (800). In the event of a mishap or bad day for Pogačar, his teammates Adam Yates (1200) and Pavel Sivakov (400) seem to be the UAE Team Emirates’ best alternatives, as the course's elevation seems too tough for Marc Hirschi (600), although he is in great form.

Photo: © Il Lombardia