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51-681: The position of the race in the European calendar has changed several times. Prior to 1987 the event was always seven days before Milan–San Remo and was seen as an important preparation race for the Spring Classics, however in 1987 Milano–Torino was switched to a date in October just before the Giro di Lombardia because the race organisers were not happy with the inclement weather conditions characterised by early March in northern Italy. In October

102-625: A "holy grail" in Italian cycling, dubbed by Italian press as La Doppietta (The Double). Seven riders have achieved this feat, on ten occasions. Fausto Coppi did it three consecutive times, Eddy Merckx is the last rider as yet. Even rarer is the combination of winning all three of Italy 's great cycling races, Milan–San Remo, the Tour of Lombardy and the Giro d'Italia in one year. This Italian Treble happened twice: Classic cycle races#Fall.2Fautumn classics The classic cycle races are

153-590: A bush to let the peloton pass. He rode back to the front of the peloton and jokingly asked a baffled Merckx whom they were chasing. De Vlaeminck won the race ahead of Merckx. For nearly 70 years the race was called "il Mondiale d'Autunno" in Italy ("the World Championship of Autumn"), as the real World Championship was held at the end of summer. It lost this particular role in 1995 when the UCI revolutionized

204-421: A fixture as the closing race of the Italian and European cycling season. It was renamed Giro di Lombardia in 1907. After the pioneering years, the race was dominated alternately by Frenchman Henri Pélissier and local heroes Gaetano Belloni and Costante Girardengo , all winning the race three times. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Alfredo Binda , Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi , icons of Italian cycling, were

255-515: A four-man breakaway, so sacrificing his chances to win the sprint. The edition was won by Frenchman Laurent Jalabert , Bartoli finished fourth and won the World Cup. The race had become the most important Autumn Classic together with Paris–Tours in France, which was mainly won by sprinters or escapees. By the early 21st century however, Paris–Tours lost its status as a World Tour race, and

306-412: A hat trick of wins between 1938 and 1940. Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner, the late Marco Pantani almost died in the 1995 edition of Milano–Torino when police allowed a four-wheel drive vehicle onto the course by mistake; Pantani and two other riders ploughed into the vehicle. Pantani sustained multiple leg breaks and missed the entire 1996 season. In 2012 the winner was Alberto Contador , who won

357-547: A poetic epithet, has also coined the phrase The Romantic Classic to denote the race. An overview of climbs featured in the Giro di Lombardia. As the course changes every year, not all climbs are included in the same edition. The Trittico di Autunno (Autumn Triptych ) is an unofficial trio of cycling classics held in the Lombardy and Piedmont regions of Northern Italy , in early October. Three one-day races, Milano–Torino,

408-458: A rich history, dating back more than a century. Milan-Turin , with its first running in 1876, is the oldest classic in the world, three decades older than the Tour of Lombardy. Until 1986, and again from 2005 to 2007, Milan-Turin was organized in the spring. Since 1987 the three races are held as an "Autumn Trio", initially mid-October and since 2012 two weeks earlier. Both Milan-Turin and the Giro del Piemonte have suffered some continuity problems in

459-486: A similar palmarès since the 1960s, but are different in character. The hills in Lombardy are usually longer than those in the Belgian Ardennes and are more spread out over the course. Liège–Bastogne–Liège has 12 categorized climbs, usually shorter and steeper, coming in faster succession than in the Tour of Lombardy, and has an uphill-finish. Because of its position in autumn as one of the last classics of

510-475: A strong sprint finish and even Grand Tour specialists. Time trial specialist Tony Rominger won the Tour of Lombardy twice in the 1990s and Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali won the 2015 edition after a downhill attack on the penultimate descent. The race is often compared to Liège–Bastogne–Liège , the monument race in Belgium earlier in the year. Both classics have a similar hilly course and show

561-623: A time as the fastest speed in a classic race until beaten by Marinio Vigna in the 1964 edition of the Tre Valli Varesine . Swiss rider Markus Zberg now holds the record average speed for the race when he won in 1999 at a speed of 45.75 kilometres per hour. The record for the most wins in Milano–Torino stands to the Italian Costante Girardengo who took five victories between 1914 and 1923. Pierino Favalli took

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612-568: The Giro del Piemonte (Tour of Piedmont) and the Tour of Lombardy, are held within a four-day timeframe in the week following the World Championship . Milan-Turin is held on the Thursday after the World Championship, the Giro del Piemonte on Friday and the Tour of Lombardy is the closing race on Sunday. The Tour of Lombardy is the pinnacle, the hardest and unequivocally most important race of this unofficial trio. All three races have

663-851: The Omloop , but receive a lot of attention because of their position early in the season, typically in February. Together, Strade Bianche, Milan–San Remo, the Cobbled classics and the Ardennes classics make up the "Spring Classics", all held in March and April. After Liege, the one-day races begin to give way to the stage races leading to the Grand Tours between May and September. Although there are no 'monuments' in this period, some important summer classics are held from July to September. Following

714-599: The Parco Naturale della Collina di Superga to finish in the Fausto Coppi velodrome on Corso Casale in Turin. In the 2012 and 2021 edition the finish was moved to the top of Superga (repeated two times). The 2020 edition was a flat race for the sprinters. Milano–Torino is one of the fastest of the classics, Walter Martin won the 1961 edition at an average speed of 45.094 kilometres per hour and this stood for

765-552: The San Fermo della Battaglia and won the race. In 2012 Gilbert crashed on a wet descent. When the weather conditions are good, teams are able to control the race more easily and decisive attacks come later in the race. On sunny days, the leaves on the trees typically blaze a golden trail around Lombardy, and TV coverage displays extensive aerial footage of the scenery around the Como Lake. The Italian press, never shy to introduce

816-549: The Ticino river at Vigevano after 40 kilometres, leaving the region of Lombardy and entering Piedmont . The first 95 kilometres of the race are run in a south westerly direction on broad flat roads, the climb of Vignale Monferrato (293 metres) is encountered and then a series of small undulations take the race to Asti after 130 kilometres. The race route crosses four railway level crossings at 70, 75, 129 and 133 kilometres and these can be important in helping any breakaways if

867-820: The Tour de France , Giro d'Italia , Vuelta a España , Paris–Nice , and the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré . The UCI ProTour replaced the UCI Road World Cup series (1989–2004) which contained only one-day races. Many of the classics, and all the Grand Tours , were not part of the UCI ProTour for the 2008 season because of disputes between the UCI and the ASO , which organizes the Tour de France and several other major races. Since 2009, many classic cycle races are part of

918-482: The UCI World Tour . Although cycling fans and sports media eagerly use the term "classic", there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a classic cycling race. UCI , the international governing body of cycling, has no mention at all of the term in its rulings. This poses problems to define the characteristics of these races and makes it impossible to make precise lists. Several criteria are used to denote

969-605: The peloton is held up by a train. At Asti the race swings north westerly towards Turin climbing steadily before tackling the tough climb of the Superga Hill (620 metres) just 16 kilometres from the finish. The Superga climb is often the springboard for a group of riders to escape before the finish. From the top of the Superga it is a fast picturesque descent into Turin down the Strada Panoramica dei Colli through

1020-669: The Civiglio after the Ghisallo. In 2011 the route was fully renewed, with a first-time finish in Lecco . The Sormano was included again, but was climbed before the Ghisallo. After the Ghisallo, a flat stretch led to the final climb of the race: the steep Villa Vergano in Galbiate . After the descent only 3 km remained until the finish in Lecco. The 3,4 km climb of Villa Vergano

1071-531: The Tour of Lombardy is called the Autumn Classic and considered a climbers race. In total, 21 riders have won both races at least once in their career. Following Paolo Bettini , the most recent one to do this was Vincenzo Nibali who won the Primavera in 2018 and the Tour of Lombardy in 2015 and 2017 . Winning Milan–San Remo and the Tour of Lombardy in the same year is considered as something of

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1122-451: The Tour of Lombardy was raced from Milan to Milan, and like many cycling classics, climbs were gradually introduced to the course, in a bid to make the race more demanding. In 1961, the finish was moved to Como and the character of the race changed fundamentally. The long and flat run-in to the finish in Milan was abandoned; in its place came a mountainous lake-side finish, just 6 km from

1173-480: The Tour of Lombardy was the one remaining major Classic in autumn, the only Monument in the latter part of the year. Damiano Cunego imposed himself as the Lord of Lombardy with three victories. In 2006 , the race celebrated its 100th edition, won by Paolo Bettini , one week after becoming world champion. The edition was particularly emotional because Bettini's brother had died in a car accident just five days before

1224-415: The breakaway and caught the leaders in the final kilometres. He and Coppi openly argued and André Darrigade , sensing their indecisiveness, attacked to claim the victory, thereby relegating Coppi and Magni to second and third place. In 1961, the finish of the Tour of Lombardy was moved from Milan to Como and the identity of the race changed fundamentally. The previous flat finale towards the finish in Milan

1275-496: The calendar at the end of September, and the name officially became Il Lombardia . It was the beginning of a remarkable revival for the Monument race. The Tour of Lombardy is now the classic par excellence for riders to take revenge for the world championship or to achieve an " Autumn Double win". In recent years Philippe Gilbert , Joaquim Rodríguez and Vincenzo Nibali all won the race twice. Like most of cycling's classics,

1326-463: The classic with the fewest interruptions in cycling; only the editions of 1943 and 1944 were cancelled for reasons of war. Italian Fausto Coppi won a record five times. Because of its demanding course, the race is considered a climbers classic , favouring climbers with strong descending skills and a strong sprint finish. The Tour of Lombardy was created as an idea of journalist Tullo Morgagni . Morgagni wanted to give Milanese rider Pierino Albini

1377-571: The day. The Colle del Gallo, with its sanctuary of the Madonna dei ciclisti at the top, often proved to be decisive. In 2004, after twenty years, the finish returned to the lakefront in Como, with the short but steep San Fermo della Battaglia climb just before the arrival. The 2010 edition saw the re-introduction of the Muro di Sormano , a spectacular climb with a maximum gradient of 27%, which replaced

1428-524: The end of the Vuelta a Espana in early September, the nature of the racing once more tends towards the one-day races. The autumn classics are held from September to November. Some Classics have disappeared, often because of financial problems. These include: The Monuments are generally considered to be the oldest, hardest and most prestigious one-day events in cycling. They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently

1479-419: The first single day race in his pro career. During the first race in 1876, there were only 10 competitors, however, there were an estimated 10,000 spectators. Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (English: Tour of Lombardy ), officially Il Lombardia , is a cycling race in Lombardy , Italy . It is traditionally the last of the five ' Monuments ' of the season, considered to be one of

1530-446: The importance of a cycling race: date of creation, historical importance and tradition, commercial importance, location, level of difficulty, level of competition field, etc. However, many of these paradigms tend to shift over time and are often opinions of a personal nature. One of the few objective criteria is the official categorization of races as classified by the UCI, although this is not a defining feature either, as many fans dispute

1581-425: The international cycling calendar and moved the World Championship from August to October, one week before the Giro di Lombardia. From 1988 to 2004 the Tour of Lombardy was the final leg of the UCI Road World Cup and was often the decisive race in that competition. In 1997 Michele Bartoli needed to finish ahead of Rolf Sørensen in the race to be the winner of the 1997 World Cup. For 30 km he did solo work in

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1632-429: The main protagonists and immortalized the race with their exploits. Coppi won the race 5 times (of which 4 consecutive wins) and Binda 4 times. Coppi finished solo on every win, following a successful strategy of attacking on the Madonna del Ghisallo and maintaining his lead to the finish in Milan. Gino Bartali was the king of the podium with 9 top-3 finishes (3 wins, 4 second places and 2 third places). The race of 1956

1683-530: The most prestigious one-day events in cycling, and one of the last events on the UCI World Tour calendar. Nicknamed the Classica delle foglie morte ("the Classic of the falling (dead) leaves"), it is the most important Autumn Classic in cycling. The race's most famous climb is the Madonna del Ghisallo in the race finale. The first edition was held in 1905. Since its creation, the Giro di Lombardia has been

1734-609: The most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar . Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most revered races are often described as the cycling monuments . For the 2005 to 2007 seasons, some classics formed part of the UCI ProTour run by the Union Cycliste Internationale . This event series also included various stage races including

1785-609: The one-day races in which most points can be earned in the UCI World Tour . Since the early 2000s, many classic events have started women's races, now part of the UCI Women's World Tour . These events are often held on the same day or on the same weekend of the men's races. Three of the five cycling 'monuments' have equivalent races: Tour of Flanders for Women (first held in 2004), Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes (first held in 2017) and Paris–Roubaix Femmes (first held in 2021). A women's version of Milan–San Remo, named Primavera Rosa ,

1836-485: The opportunity to take revenge for his defeat against Giovanni Cuniolo in the short-lived Italian King's Cup . His newspaper la Gazzetta dello Sport organized a new race as a 'rematch' on 12 November 1905, called Milano–Milano . The race attracted vast crowds along the course and ended in Milan with the victory of Giovanni Gerbi , at the time one of the stars of cycling. Gerbi won the race 40 minutes ahead of Giovanni Rossignoli and Luigi Ganna . The race soon became

1887-481: The past, but are on back on the calendar of 2015. For many, particularly Italian riders, Milan-Turin and the Giro del Piemonte (both 200-km races) are the ultimate races to prepare for the Tour of Lombardy. The Tour of Lombardy is one of five Monuments in cycling, one of two Italian Monuments together with Milan–San Remo . Milan–San Remo is called the Spring Classic and considered a sprinters race, whereas

1938-763: The presence of some of the highest-categorized races and some older races are not included in the UCI World Tour . Because of the growing ambiguity and inflation of the term "classic", the much younger term "monument" was introduced in the 21st century to denote the five most revered of the classic cycling races. Until the 1980s there were originally eight recognised classics, the five Monuments (see Cycling Monuments below) plus La Flèche Wallonne , Paris–Brussels and Paris–Tours . Due to various traffic and organizational problems these events came and went in various guises (for example, Paris–Tours became Blois–Chaville, before returning in its current form). Paris–Brussels disappeared altogether between 1967 and 1976. Flèche Wallonne

1989-501: The race became part of the "Trittico di Autunno" (Autumn Treble) along with the Giro del Piemonte and the Giro di Lombardia which were all run in the same week. In 2005 Milan–Torino returned to its traditional date in early March, however the 2008 edition again returned to a date in October exchanging dates with the Monte Paschi Eroica race which is now run in March. However the race did not take place in October 2008 and it

2040-504: The race three times. Cycling legend Eddy Merckx won three consecutive victories from 1971 to 1973, but his last win was stripped after a positive doping test and awarded to second-place finisher Felice Gimondi . The race of 1974 gave birth to another memorable anecdote. Eddy Merckx wanted to get his revenge, but fellow Belgian Roger De Vlaeminck attacked early in the race, inducing Merckx to make his team work in pursuit. De Vlaeminck, not really intending to go solo, stopped and hid behind

2091-417: The race, and the Italian was overcome with emotion when he crossed the finish line. Bettini is one of seven riders to win the Tour of Lombardy after becoming world champion earlier the same year. The other six are Alfredo Binda , Tom Simpson , Eddy Merckx , Felice Gimondi , Giuseppe Saronni and Oscar Camenzind . Since 2012 both the World Championship and the Giro di Lombardia have a new, earlier date on

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2142-457: The route has developed over the years, and the Tour of Lombardy has undergone more changes than any other cycling monument . Since the 1960s it has been notable for its hilly and varied course around Lake Como , to the northeast of Milan , with a flat finish in one of the cities on the shores of the lake. Its signature symbol is the climb of the Madonna del Ghisallo , one of the iconic sanctuaries in cycling. The climb starts near Bellagio at

2193-426: The route usually features five or six significant climbs. The best-known of them is the Madonna del Ghisallo , one of the few fixed locations of the race. The climb is 10,6 kilometres long, with an average gradient of 5.2% and stretches of over 10%. Because the race usually has a downhill or flat run-in to the finish, the main contenders are riders with a broad range of skills. As such, the course favours climbers with

2244-415: The shore of the Como Lake, and heads up until the church of Madonna del Ghisallo (754 m), the patroness of cyclists. Over the years, it has become indelibly linked with the race and with cycling in general. It was the favourite climb of cycling greatnesses Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, who immortalized it. The church also serves as a museum containing religious and cycling-related objects. Originally

2295-569: The top of the last climb. The route usually has some changes every year, sometimes a complete restyling, only to be altered again the next edition. From 1984 to 1989 the finish returned to Milan and in 1990 to its suburb Monza , inviting attackers for long-distance breakaways. From 1995 to 2003 the finish was in Bergamo , with the Colle del Gallo (Col Gàl in Bergamasque ) as the last climb of

2346-602: The year, the race is commonly nicknamed the Race of the Falling Leaves . Consequently, the weather repeatedly plays a decisive role in the nature of the race. In bad weather - common to mountainous Lombardy - the race is often a grueling contest where the strongest riders attack well ahead of the finish. The editions of 2006 , 2010 , and 2012 were exceptionally rainy. In 2010 Philippe Gilbert and Michele Scarponi attacked with 40 km to go; Gilbert distanced Scarponi on

2397-444: Was a particularly fascinating battle. At 60 km from the finish a breakaway was formed with Fausto Coppi , seeking his sixth victory. Italian rider Fiorenzo Magni had missed the break, and as he fell further behind, a car passed him with Giulia Occhini , Coppi's infamous mistress, sitting in the back. The two did not get on and as her car passed, Magni saw her sneer at him. Infuriated, Magni set out in an improbable solo pursuit of

2448-490: Was always on the Saturday before Liege–Bastogne–Liege (it was known as The Ardennes Weekend), before being shortened and moved to the preceding Wednesday. The remaining five then became known as the 'Monuments'. Rik van Looy is the only rider to win all eight. Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck both won seven, both missing out at Paris–Tours. Season openers are usually not regarded as highly as other classics apart from

2499-612: Was not run for the next four years until an agreement was reached in February 2012 between the race owners (RCS) and the Associazione Ciclistica Arona to organise the race for the next three years. The 2000 edition of the race was not held because of torrential rain which caused catastrophic mud slides in the Piedmont area. The race starts in Novate Milanese , just north west of Milan, and crosses

2550-429: Was replaced with a spectacular finish by Lake Como , just 6 km after the top of the last climb. Despite an occasional return to finishing in Milan, the race had developed a new personality, defined by a series of arduous climbs amid a mountainous scenery. Over the years the race has been dominated mainly by Italian riders. Frenchman Henri Pelissier and Ireland's Sean Kelly were the only non-Italian riders to win

2601-410: Was the decisive site in the 2011 and 2012 edition. In 2014 the finish was moved to Bergamo. Organizer RCS announced that from 2014 to 2017 the finish of the Tour of Lombardy will alternate between Bergamo and Como. The Giro di Lombardia is considered a climbers classic and one of the most arduous races of the season, because of its distance (ca. 255 km) and several famous climbs. Nowadays

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