The Tour of Lombardy is not only one of the most prestigious cycling races, it is also the highlight at the end of the cycling season. It is the last cycling monument of the year and also the last one-day race at World Tour level. It is not for nothing that the classic race, which has been held since 1905, is known as the "race of the falling leaves".
Tour of Lombardy 2024: The most important facts in brief
- Date: Saturday, 12 October 2024
- Distance: 255 kilometres
- Key points: Colma di Sormano, San Fermo della Battaglia
- Start: Bergamo (10:40 a.m.)
- Target: Como (~16:42 - 17:26)
- Nickname: Classica delle foglie morte (in German: race of the falling leaves)
- Last year's winner: Tadej Pogacar
- Record winner: Fausto Coppi (five times)
- Organiser: RCS Sport
- The favourites in the TOUR-Check
- Pogacar breaks records of legends
Tour of Lombardy 2024: The route of Il Lombardia
After the race led from Como to Bergamo last year, the start and finish of Il Lombardia 2024 will be swapped. The riders will cover 255 kilometres between Bergamo and Como - 17 kilometres more than last year. Originally, only 252 kilometres were planned, but heavy rainfall, which led to flooding and landslides, forced the organisers to change the route at short notice. There are eight climbs, including the ascent to the Madonna del Ghisallo: one of the most famous and legendary climbs of the race.
The first climb of the Tour of Lombardy is around 25 kilometres away. The Forcellino di Bianzano is just a foretaste of what is to follow. A little later, the route should climb to Ganda, but the Passo di Ganda is not passable and is replaced by the Selvino Pass. After just over 90 kilometres, the riders then have to unpack their mountain legs again: For over 10 kilometres, the route climbs to Valpiana - the maximum gradient there is 10 per cent. This is followed by a longer flat section before the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo (6.3 kilometres, 4.1 per cent average gradient).
Colma di Sormano as a key point
The Colma di Sormano is back on the race programme after Remco Evenepoel's bad crash in 2020 - but now it will be ridden in the opposite direction to the race four years ago. It should be a blast here: The climb is almost 13 kilometres long and has maximum gradients of 13 per cent. At the very least, a preliminary decision regarding the outcome of the race is likely to be made here. It is not unlikely that a soloist or a small group will be able to break away here and decide the victory among themselves. If no soloist manages to break away on the Colma di Sormano, the San Fermo della Battaglia climb will follow shortly before Como, where the final decision is likely to be made. A solo victory is a likely outcome of the 2024 Tour of Lombardy.
To win the Tour of Lombardy, the riders have to combine two different skills: They need the speed stability of a classics rider, combined with qualities on the mountain to be able to hold their own on climbs such as the Colma di Sormano. The rider who combines these qualities in a unique way is Tadej Pogacar. It is no coincidence that the Slovenian has won the last three editions of Il Lombardia.
The most important climbs at a glance
All the climbs of the Tour of Lombardy 2024
- Forcellino di Bianzano | kilometre 29.9
- Selvino | kilometre 56.1
- Colle de Berbenno | kilometre 83.9
- Valpiana | kilometre 103.8
- Sella di Osigo | kilometre 162.4
- Madonna del Ghisallo | kilometre 173.7
- Colma di Sormano | kilometre 210.0
- San Fermo della Battaglia | kilometre 246.8
Tour of Lombardy 2024: TV broadcast & live stream
Il Lombardia 2024 cannot be seen on free TV in Germany. On the pay TV channel Eurosport 2 the race will be organised by 10:25 am to approx. 5:00 pm will be broadcast live. Eurosport 1 will broadcast a one-and-a-half hour recording of the race highlights on free-to-air TV from 18:30. There will also be a live stream of the entire race on Discovery Plus (for a fee).
