120 editions, more than a century of cycling, champions and legendary exploits. Click HERE to retrace the history of Il Lombardia.
Between the late 1990s and the early 2000s, Il Lombardia decided it was time to change and explore new routes across a region with an extraordinary cycling heritage. Start and finish locations changed regularly, but the prestige of the season’s final great Classic remained untouched. It was also an era of Italian dominance, with home riders claiming eight consecutive victories between 2001 and 2008, before Philippe Gilbert produced his memorable back-to-back triumphs.
2006: Bettini’s victory for Sauro
The 2006 Giro di Lombardia was much more than Paolo Bettini’s second consecutive victory in the Race of the Falling Leaves – it became one of the most emotional moments in modern cycling. Just three weeks earlier, Bettini had been crowned UCI Road World Champion in Salzburg. Days later, however, he suffered the devastating loss of his brother Sauro in a road accident, thus arriving at Il Lombardia wearing the rainbow jersey but carrying immense grief.
The race came alive in the closing kilometres, with Bettini breaking clear to reach Como alone, ahead of Samuel Sánchez and Fabian Wegmann. Yet more memorable than his victory in the race’s centenary edition was the image at the finish: Bettini crossing the line, blowing kisses towards the sky before breaking down in tears as he was embraced by his family and teammates. That victory was all for Sauro. On that day joy and sadness came together in one breathtaking performace.
2010: Nibali crashes, Gilbert wins
The 2010 Giro di Lombardia was one of those editions that fully lived up to the nickname “Race of the Falling Leaves”, turning into a brutal survival test through rain, cold and treacherous roads. Only 34 riders reached the finish in Como.
Once again, Philippe Gilbert emerged as the strongest rider. Already the winner the previous year, the Belgian was firmly establishing himself as the king of the Classics. The race exploded over the Madonna del Ghisallo, the Colma di Sormano and San Fermo della Battaglia, but the decisive moment came on the wet and twisting descent of the Sormano. Gilbert took the front to neutralise the threat posed by Vincenzo Nibali, one of the finest descenders in the peloton. Fate intervened, however, as the Sicilian crashed on a hairpin bend, losing any chance of remaining in contention. From that point, the race became a long pursuit towards Como. Michele Scarponi was the only rider able to bridge across to Gilbert, but he paid for the effort on the final ascent of San Fermo, allowing the Belgian to pull clear once more and raise his arms in victory on the shores of Lake Como.
Click HERE to discover more about the century-old history of Il Lombardia.
