Stellar cast for the last Monument of the season

Il Lombardia will start tomorrow in Como and finish in Bergamo, after 239 kilometres. 25 teams, each of 7 riders, will be taking on the race, including some of the biggest names in the international cycling scene. The race will be fully broadcast across all continents.

On Sunday, the Gran Fondo Il Lombardia, starting and finishing in Cantù, will include the Ghisallo and Sormano climbs.

RCS Sport announces the start list for the 115th Il Lombardia presented by Eolo. The last Monument Classic of the season, which this year will start in Como and end in Bergamo, along a new, highly selective route, promises a great spectacle with 6 climbs and 4,500 metres of total elevation gain.

On the road will be Julian Alaphilippe, Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali, Aleksandr Vlasov, Thibaut Pinot, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Adam Yates, Romain Bardet, Simon Yates, Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde. There will also be Remco Evenepoel, Rigoberto Uran, Bauke Mollema, who won the race in 2019, and winner of the 2014 edition (finishing in Bergamo) Daniel Martin.

The route

After the start from Como towards Cantù, the riders will tackle the Ghisallo, the first climb of the race. Ascending from the Asso side they’ll then descend into Bellagio and reach Lecco along the shore of Lake Como. Upon entering the province of Bergamo, a series of climbs begin that lead to the finish line. This section of the race is characterised by a continuous succession of climbs and descents with almost no flat sections in between. The riders will climb the Roncola first (Valico di Valpiana, offering gradients of up to 17%), then the climbs of Berbenno, Dossena, Zambla Alta and Passo di Ganda for a total vertical elevation that surpasses 4400m. From Ganda, the route leads to the Selvino where the classic long descent with 19 hairpin bends begins. From there, the riders will cross 9km in their approach to the city (the only flat section of the final part of the route) and begin the iconic passage through the Città Alta before the finish in Bergamo.

The final kilometers

The last kilometers head through Bergamo’s upper town, going up to Porta Garibaldi and then to Largo Aperto (crossing 200m of cobblestone terrain). In the first part of the race, the gradients are always in excess of 10% (max 12%). Downhill the road is a wide, smooth surface. At 1800m from the finish, there is a sharp turn with a short bottleneck to overcome the Porta Sant’Agostino. After the last kilometer, a wide curve to the left awaits the riders before they join the straight, leading to the finish. The final straight is 800m long and 7.5m wide on an asphalt surface, downhill in the first part and then flat.

TV coverage

RCS Sport’s great autumn cycling classics will end on Saturday 9 October with Il Lombardia. As with previous races, this last one will be broadcast around the world, with television coverage across all five continents. The race will be broadcast in full.

On Saturday 9 October, host broadcaster RAI will televise the race free-to-air on Rai Sport + HD from 10:00 to 14:00. The live broadcast will then move to RAI 2 until 17:15.

In Europe, Eurosport will offer the race live on its screens from 10:10 to 17:00 on Eurosport1, and from 10:10 to 17:35 on Eurosport Player. It will also be possible to watch the race from Belgium, on VTM and RTBF. In Switzerland, coverage will be on SRF ZWEI and RSI LA2.

Overseas, the race will be broadcast live in Mexico and Central America on TUDN, while in South America it will be available on ESPN, ESPN 2 and STAR +. Il Lombardia will also be broadcast in South Africa on Supersport.

In Japan, cycling fans can watch the race on J Sports, while in China, they will be able to see it on Zhibo TV. In Southeast Asia, the race will be live on Eurosport Southeast Asia, while in New Zealand it will be broadcast on Sky Sports.

The GCN streaming platform will be broadcasting Il Lombardia in Europe, Southeast Asia, India, North America, Australia, Japan, the Middle East and Africa.

Gazzetta dello Sport special prize in memory of journalist Pier Luigi Todisco

This year, on the occasion of the 115th edition of Il Lombardia, La Gazzetta dello Sport will pay respect to a dear colleague, Pier Luigi Todisco, who died tragically ten years ago, on 7 October 2011, as he was riding to work. A prize will be awarded in his memory to the first rider clearing the Ghisallo climb, the iconic mountain of Il Lombardia, at the top of which stands the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo, patron saint of all cyclists, and Fiorenzo Magni’s Cycling Museum. Passionately fond of cycling, Pier Luigi dreamt of climbing the Ghisallo on his bike and was training to achieve his goal when he passed away. This special prize will be presented on the podium in Bergamo at the end of the race

On Sunday, from Cantù to Cantù, the Gran Fondo Il Lombardia

Almost everything is ready for the Gran Fondo Il Lombardia of Sunday 10 October. The race for amateurs will start and finish in Cantù, with the iconic climbs of Ghisallo and Sormano in between. The Gran Fondo will take place the day after ‘the classic of the fallen leaves’, while the race village will open its doors on Saturday for the collection of riders’ race packs. More information about the Gran Fondo Il Lombardia is available on the event’s website: www.gflombardia.it