{"id":52274,"title":"Tour of Lombardy guide 2026","description":"TV guide and preview, including the route of the 2026 Tour of Lombardy, the last cycling Monument of the season. The Tour of Lombardy os also known as the Giro di Lombardia and Il Lombardia, takes place on Saturday 16 October 2025, starting in Bergamo and finishing in Como.","content":"

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Published in<\/strong>: <\/span>COBBLES & CLASSICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Saturday, 10 October 2026 11:00 local time<\/strong><\/h3>

The final cycling Monument of the year, and the most picturesque, takes place on Saturday, 10 October 2026. Il Lombardia, its official title, is more commonly known as Il Giro di Lombardia or the Tour of Lombardy, commences in Bergamo and finishes 239 km later in Como.<\/p>

\"FonsFons De Wolf - Winner of the 1980 Giro di Lombardia. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

Amongst the five Monuments of cycling<\/strong><\/a>, it\u2019s somewhat of an outlier. It takes place in Europe\u2019s autumn rather than spring, occurs outside of Northern Europe, admittedly a feature it shares with Milano-Sanremo, and has climbs of over 10 kilometres.<\/p>

Unsurprisingly, given the altitude gain of over 4,000 metres, it\u2019s a race that suits climbers, and the list of winners is bedecked by those who have made their name in the Tour de France, Giro d\u2019Italia and Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a. Obviously, Eddy Merckx has won, although his third consecutive victory in 1973 was awarded to Italian Felice Gimondi after the Belgian cycling superstar failed a doping test.<\/p>

\"TheThe mountains and Lakes around Como and Bergamo provide a stunning backdrop to the Tour of Lombardy<\/em><\/p>

Fellow five-time winner of the Tour de France, Bernard Hinault, was victorious in 1979 and again in 1984. Sole British winner Tommy Simpson won alone in 1965, wearing the rainbow jersey of World Champion, whilst Ireland has achieved four victories through Sean Kelly (1983, 1985, 1991) and Dan Martin (2014).<\/p>

\"Gifts<\/u><\/a><\/p>

Kelly might have made it four, but seemingly inexplicably, he and loyal teammate Ac\u00e1cio da Silva allowed Gianbattista Baronchelli to ride away in the final two kilometres for his final professional victory. Kelly refuted the suggestion that the race was fixed, but the suspicion has never gone away.<\/p>

More recently, Tadej Poga\u010dar has made the race his, having won the last five editions on the trot with insolent ease. In his absence through injury, we are guaranteed that a new name will appear in the list of winners.<\/p>

DID YOU KNOW?<\/strong> Due to the time of year, Il Lombardia is often referred to as the race of the falling leaves.<\/em><\/p>

Status<\/strong>: UCI WorldTour Men's one-day<\/p>