Il Lombardia: Cycling’s Last Monument

The men’s pro peloton is gathering in northern Italy for one last hurrah: the most beautiful – and most mountainous – of all the Classics, Il Lombardia.

The pro road cycling season is oh-so-nearly done. In Girona, Monaco, Andorra and Tuscany riders are putting their feet up, seeing their families, eating a little ice cream. Having a beer, maybe even two. However, others still have duties to fulfil at the remaining minor races or are thinking about the cyclocross season. And a select few will have their sights set on the ultimate late-season prize, a final shot at glory: Il Lombardia.

Formerly known as the Tour of Lombardy, Il Lombardia is the fifth and final ‘Monument’ of the cycling season (after Milan–San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège) – the select group of one-day Classic races at which, every year, one rider gets to write himself into the cycling history books. This will be the 117th edition: it was first contested in 1905 – making it four years older than the Giro d’Italia – and was initially run as an out-and-back from Milan. That first edition was won by the ‘Red Devil’ Giovanni Gerbi, but the names most synonymous with the race are Alfredo Binda and Fausto Coppi, who won five times, and, a little later, Felice Gimondi.

Nicknamed the ‘Race of the Falling Leaves’ for obvious reasons, Il Lombardia is perhaps the most romantic of all the Monuments. Though the course changes significantly each year – more than any of the other major one-day races – its trademark features are the dipping and diving roads of the hills around Lake Como, with their stunning vistas across the deep blue waters towards Switzerland and the heart of the Alps. Not for nothing has George Clooney had a lakeside villa here since 2001. On a good day, the Lombardia offers the dream of late-season cycling: low sun, burnished leaves and spectacular lakeside scenery. When the weather’s bad, however, the conditions add an edge, provoking numerous attacks from riders hopeful of unseating the favourites.

This year’s race travels from Como east to Bergamo, with an identical parcours to the 2021 edition (reversing the start and finish of 2022). And the so-called ‘Climber’s Classic’ doesn’t mess around: within its 238km / 148 mi are 4,400m / 14,400 ft of vertical gain. If there’s one ascent that traditionally defines the race, it’s the Madonna del Ghisallo, a picturesque 8.6km / 5.34 mi climb above the lake, at the top of which is a chapel dedicated to cyclists and full of memorabilia, as well as one of the last surviving manufacturers of wooden bicycle-wheel rims.

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Heading away from the lake, the climbs of the Roncola (7.22km / 4.49 mi @ 7.2%) and the Berbenno (6.28km / 3.9 mi @ 5.2%) will soften the peloton up before the Passo della Crocetta (11.55km / 7.18 mi @ 5.9%) takes them almost all the way up to the Alta Zembla, at 1,257m / 4124 ft, the race’s highest point.

Then, to really test the legs, comes the Passo di Ganda, which in almost 10km / 6 mi climbs 921m / 3,021 ft, with sections at 13%. The Canadian pro Mike Woods took the KOM for this segment in the 2021 edition, and if he races this year he’ll be hoping for a good showing.

From the top of the Ganda, it’s not far to the finish line in Bergamo, but there’s one final hurdle: the Boccola, a short sharp climb on city streets with a mean cobbled section at 13% and more. If someone doesn’t make a daring escape on the Ganda, the race will be decided here.

Slovenian powerhouse Tadej Pogačar won Il Lombardia last year, and he’d be a good bet to repeat the feat this time round. But all the big guns will be out for him. Lining up in Como will be Soudal–Quick Step’s Remco Evenepoel, Ineos’s Michał Kwiatkowski, Jumbo–Visma’s Primož Roglič and EF Education–EasyPost’s Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy. Healy came very close to winning on the Boccola in Stage 15 of this year’s Giro d’Italia.  And there’s also Lidl Trek’s Tour de King of the Mountains Giulio Ciccone, so a home win might be on the cards too.

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If you’re lucky enough to be watching the race in person, or riding your bike in this cycling paradise, don’t forget to visit the Muro di Sormano. This ‘wall’ debuted in the race in the 1960s and then wasn’t used again until the 2010s – racers on vintage gearing claimed it was just too steep and they kept on falling off. It is, to be sure, deviously hard: 17% average, with a spike of 27% and a last 200m / 650 ft at 20%. The pros will be glad it’s dropped off the menu again… but why not go challenge yourself on one of cycling’s most fearful road climbs?