Il Lombardia 2024 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live road cycling action
The season's last Monument classic, the 118th Giro di Lombardia, takes place on 12 October 2024 with world champion Tadej Pogacar searching for a remarkable fourth consecutive win in the 'Classic of the Falling Leaves'.
Cycling Road
The last major one-day race of the men's road cycling 2024 UCI World Tour season takes place this weekend with the 118th edition of the Giro di Lombardia on Saturday (12 October).
Known as the 'Classic of the Falling Leaves', a reference to the race's position in the annual calendar, Il Lombardia is the fifth and final Monument classic of the season. Some 175 cyclists – 25 teams of seven – will tackle the 252km (156mi) trek from Bergamo to Como.
Slovenia's newly crowned world champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates is the three-time defending champion and will hope to become just the third man to win the race four times. He can also become the first rider since the legendary Fausto Coppi (1946–1949) to win the race four years in a row.
Over 4,800m of altitude gain awaits the peloton before they arrive into Como, which has served as the finish town for 13 of the past 20 years since 2004.
Here's what to know about the 2024 Giro di Lombardia.
Il Lombardia 2024 race route and key tests
The peloton are due to race from Bergamo, serving as the starting town for the ninth time in history, to Como.
With the race route heading away from Bergamo this year, some of last year's vital climbs now appear earlier on in the parcours, including the Passo di Ganda (9.2km at 7.3 per cent), the first major test on the course around 50km into the race.
The Colma di Sormano, around 40km from the finish, will pose a difficult test. It is a 12.9km-long climb at 6.4 per cent, but reaches maximum gradients of 13 per cent with the last 900m of the climb averaging a 9.1 per cent gradient. While the Colma features on this year's route, the brutal Muro di Sormano 'wall' section, with maximum gradients of 27 per cent, does not.
And that won't even be the last test, as right before the finish in Como, there is a short but sharp ascent of the San Fermo della Battaglia (2.7km at 7.2 per cent), with the descent leading to the finish line.
The San Fermo della Battaglia will be the final of a total of eight categorised climbs on the route.
Cyclists to watch at Il Lombardia 2024
While Pogacar, who will show off his rainbow jersey for the second time after his dominant win at the Giro d'Emilia, is the hot favourite, he will face some old rivals and challengers.
Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel and the two-time mountain bike gold medallist Tom Pidcock could both be threats.
Other regular stage-race climbing specialists, such as Enric Mas or Matteo Jorgenson, could also be in the mix.
Mathieu van der Poel is not entered, Pogacar's fellow Slovenian and Vuelta a España champion Primoz Roglic has also announced he won't take part.
Full schedule of 2024 Giro di Lombardia
All times Central European Summer Time (UTC +2 hours), assuming an average speed of 42km/h.
The following schedule estimates the time the peloton is expected at each of the eight classified climbs, as well as the finish line.
12 October 2024
- 10:40 – Race start, Bergamo
- 11:21 – Forcelino di Bianzano
- 11:56 – Passo di Ganda
- 12:41 – Colle di Berbenno
- 13:14 – Valpiana
- 14:29 – Sella di Osigo
- 14:46 – Madonna del Ghisallo
- 15:46 – Colma di Sormano
- 16:32 – San Fermo della Battaglia
- 16:37 – Estimated race finish, Como
Il Lombardia 2024: How to watch
The race will be available on live TV and streaming on the Eurosport and Warner Bros. Discovery networks in Europe, including the UK, while RAI will also have broadcast rights in Italy.
In the USA and Canada the Giro di Lombardia can be watched on FloBikes.