Details on Saturday, October 8, 2022’s Il Lombardia 2022. Let’s have a look to the background, the course, and the possible winners of this wide-open contest.
On October 8, 2022, cyclists will compete across a challenging 253-kilometer course from Como to Bergamo in Italy.
The Race of the Falling Leaves, the last of the five Monuments on the World Tour schedule, is one of the most challenging one-day races of the year and traditionally marks the conclusion of the road racing season for most professional cyclists.
The route will still have over 5,000m of ascent, but organizers have squeezed in an extra 14 kilometers of racing for 2022.
There has been some doubt in recent years as to whether or not to include the famous Muro di Sormano; its absence was noted in 2020 and will be felt again in 2022. Instead, the riders must tackle the Madonna del Ghisallo (maximum 12%), San Fermo Della Battaglia (top 10%) twice, and the 9.2-kilometer-long Passo di Ganda (average gradient: 7.3%, maximum 15%).
Recent winners of Il Lombardia have included Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), and defending champion Tadej Pogaar, all of whom are considered powerful climbers (UAE Team Emirates).
On Saturday, many of the world’s best cyclists, including defending champion Poganar (2021), Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), and Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl), who have all had injury-plagued seasons, will converge on Bergamo.
Here is where the careers of professional cyclists Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will come close. The latter’s first Monument success came in 2015 thanks to a single assault on the Civiglio’s descent, and he went on to win a second edition in 2017.
Il Lombardia does not publish a separate version for women.
Information You Need to Know About Il Lombardia 2022
The time and day are now Saturday, October 8.
Bergamo is the point of departure.
Last word: Como
Travel Time: 4 days Distance: 253 kilometers
Winner of the 2021 Competition: Tadej Pogaar
How to watch Il Lombardia 2022
Il Lombardia will be broadcast on GCN+(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) and Eurosport – via Discovery+(opens in new tab) in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe (opens in new tab). The race will also be broadcast on GCN+ in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
- Broadcast Live: fuboTV (try it free)
Discovery+ subscriptions cost £6.99/$9.15 per month or £59.99/$78.51 for a 12-month pass. A year of GCN+ subscription costs £39.99/$45.35, while a monthly subscription is £6.99/$7.93.
If you’re looking for a local flavor to your television, Rai TV(opens in new tab) will be hosting live coverage of the race.
However, geo-restrictions may apply if you are not in your native country or on vacation during the race.
Il Lombardia 2022: The route
In its debut year of 1905, the race was a round journey that began and ended in Milan. Between the decades of the 1960s and the early 2000s, the race’s beginning or end point was always Milan, with a different city in the Lombardy region serving as the opposing side. The race’s 2004-2006 beginning line was in Mendrisio, Switzerland.
However, since 2014, the contest has been between Bergamo and Como, two stunning Italian cities. The last edition, in 2021, saw the race begin in Como and end in Bergamo, but this time around, the roles have been flipped.
In 2022, the riders will set out from Bergamo and ride for 29 kilometers before reaching the first climb of Forcellino di Banzano. Passo di Ganda (9.2km, max. 15%) and Forcella di Bura/Colle di Berbenno punch are two attritionary mountains that stand in their path from there.
The Madonna del Ghisallo ramps up once more, reaching 14% gradients, before a brief respite (if feasible) before the next 8.6km section of the climb, where the gradient briefly stretches up to 12%.
At its pinnacle lies the Church of Madonna del Ghisallo, dedicated to the patron saint of cyclists. There is a memorial for fallen cyclists, a small museum of cycling artifacts, and an eternal flame within the cathedral.
The Madonna del Ghisallo and the famed Muro di Sormano are two of the most famous mountains in all of Il Lombardia. In 2021 and 2022, however, the race will not include the challenging Muro di Sormano descent, where Remco Evenepoel plunged into a gorge in 2020.
As the riders approach the city of Como, the terrain flattens out, and they will soon reach a one-lap circuit that spans 22 kilometers. Riders will cross the finish line and immediately turn left towards the Civiglio (4.2 km, max 14%), which has a steep ascent via the winding streets of San Fermo Della Battaglia (2.7 km, max 10%).
We’re down to our final 5 kilometers before the second and final ascent of San Fermo Della Battaglia.
Read More: Tour De Romandie Féminin: Preview, How To Watch Live, Track And Everything
Il Lombardia 2022: The favorites
- Pogacar Tadej (UAE Team Emirates)
Whoever wins Il Lombardia in 2021 will be back on the starting line the following year, raring to go for one final victory on the road. Although he was unable to successfully defend his Tour de France crown, he did win three stages (including on La Planche des Belles Filles) and the youth classification.
Five days before Il Lombardia, on Tuesday, he won the one-day Tre Valli Varesine in Lombardy, beating off Sergio Higuita of Bora-Hansgrohe and Alejandro Valverde of Movistar over 3,000 meters of climbing. What a model of efficiency in getting ready!
- Jonas Vingeaard (Jumbo-Visma)
Twenty-five-year-old Vingegaard, fresh off his Tour de France victory, raced in Croatia’s six-stage CRO Race at the end of last month.
There, he won two stages to show his strength and finished second overall, behind winner Matej Mohori by a hair’s breadth. Concerning who
- Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)
The Bahrain Victorious cyclist skipped the UCI World Championships to focus on other competitions.
Indeed, like Vinegaard, it would turn out to be in Croatia. Although the climbs could and likely will work against him here, his overall triumph at the CRO Race because to a second-place finish on the final stage gave him enough time to recover for Il Lombardia.
After winning Milan–San Remo in March while using a dropper seat post, this victory would complete his Monument(al) season. Time really does seem to be passing quickly, doesn’t it?
- Vincenzo Nibali (Astana)
Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde have both announced that Il Lombardia will be their last race of the season. After placing in the top ten at the Coppa Agostoni, they both have a chance to end on a high note.
Who has won in the past at Il Lombardia?
- 2021 – Tadej Pogačar (SVN) UAE Team Emirates
- 2020 – Jakob Fuglsang (DEN) Astana-Premier Tech
- 2019 – Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo
- 2018 – Thibaut Pinot (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
- 2017 – Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Bahrain-Merida
- 2016 – Esteban Chaves (COL) Orica-BikeExchange
- 2015 – Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Astana
- 2014 – Dan Martin (IRL) Garmin-Sharp
- 2013 – Joaquim Rodriquez (ESP) Team Katusha
- 2012 – Joaquim Rodriquez (ESP) Team Katusha
- 2011 – Oliver Zaugg (SUI) Leopard-Trek
- 2010 – Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
Fausto Coppi (ITA) has the most victories (5): 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1954.
Giovanni Gerbi, the first to win, did so in 1905. (ITA).
