NORMA GIMONDI
“Il Lombardia was very much a home race for Papa [Felice Gimondi] as it went on the roads he trained on. Lots of fans would cheer him on all along the course, and he saw the race as a way to get close to his fans and his old classmates. He wanted to do well in front of his fans. The race meant a lot to him. “Papa won it twice – in 1966, and then in 1973 after Merckx was disqualified. In 1966, he beat Merckx and Poulidor in a sprint, where he had a very good lead out from his team-mate Vittorio Adorni. Adorni was very good tactically and managed to keep Papa ahead of Eddy into the finish line in the Como velodrome. “Seven years ago, Papa and Eddy were guests on a TV show on Italian television, and I was there too. I took with me the photo of the sprint from 1966, and I asked Eddy to autograph it. Eddy looked at me and said, ‘No, I’m not signing it!’ He was still unhappy with the result from that race, and the fact that Papa and Vittorio had worked him over in the final. Eddy autographed other photos, but not that one!”
Madonna del Ghisallo. His daughter Norma, who is now an executive in the Italian Cycling Federation, said that the Ghisallo was his favourite climb. “Papa loved this climb because it was the first proper climb that he rode as a child. He told us how the first time he rode it, he set off from home, near Bergamo. After climbing the Ghisallo and doing the descent he was so tired and got hungry. He had run out of food, so ended up picking figs from the nearby trees just to get him home. He loved racing up it in Il Lombardia.”
GHISALLO AND SORMANO
Of course, the Madonna del Ghisallo is not the only iconic climb on Il Lombardia’s parcours, even if it is the one constant presence. The race picks from a rich choice of climbs, such as the Valico di Valcava, a tough 12km climb near Bergamo. When the race finish line is in Como, riders can’t relax when they arrive in the lakeside town as they often have to tackle the tricky duo of the 2km San Fermo della Battaglia and longer Civiglio, immediately before the finish.
The quad-busting Muro di Sormano makes occasional appearances. This one-mile shortcut through woodland to the Colma di Sormano is a much tougher alternative than the circular alternative to the same spot. It was while on holiday in the area in 1959 that organiser Vicenzo Torriani had a ‘eureka’ moment, when considering a way to spice up the race before its new finish line in Como – much to the fear of riders, including Jacques Anquetil.
After its inclusion three times from 1960 to 1962, the Muro was removed from the race on the grounds that it was too difficult. According to Norma Gimondi, her father told her that apart from the top 10 riders, those behind would end up walking given that it was hard to get around slower riders or those who faltered without putting foot to ground. It reappeared in 2012, and is particularly liked by the 2018 winner, Thibaut Pinot.
The Frenchman says: “I really like that mixture of Lake Como and
"I really like that mixture of Lake Como and the mountains. And then you go up the Muro di Sormano, a climb where you can’t hide, and it’s basically the strongest rider who wins” Thibaut Pinot
the mountains. And then you go up the Muro di Sormano, a climb where you can’t hide, and it’s basically the strongest rider who wins.
“Muro di Sormano has now become a legendary climb, and it really represents the Tour of Lombardy. I think that duo of Ghisallo followed by Sormano should be in the race every year.”
NEW CLIMBS
This year’s route represents a departure from what Il Lombardia has offered us in recent times. Sormano will not be included, which is not surprising as the route travels from Como to Bergamo. However, the classic climb up the Madonna del Ghisallo is gone for this year. There will be no legendary hairpins rising up from the jewel that is Bellagio, though riders will race down them having scaled the easier side of this traditional centrepiece of the Lombardia, from Cantù. In fact, it won’t figure as part of the main piatti but will be an aperitivo since the Ghisallo will be the first climb of the race, after around 30km.
Riders will therefore have to wait until the route crosses into the Bergamo area, where they will be introduced to alternative climbs, such as the Costa Valle Imagna, Zambla Alta, and Passo di Ganda. The challenge will be significant nevertheless, given that there will be 4,400m of climbing in 240km. Furthermore, the Costa Valle Imagna climb with gradients of up to 17 per cent at Roncola immediately followed by Dossena and Zambla Alta – 20km and 10km climbs respectively, may well have riders crying out for the return of climbs like Valcava.
These are areas I had the opportunity to ride around last year, right before the world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As it was February, the snow-covered peaks had an air of desolation about them as I wound my way up the 16km-narrow road, with its countless hairpins, to Costa Valle Imagna. Passing through the beautiful vibrant colours of autumn in October will be a significant contrast, though riders may be a bit busy to appreciate that. Race director Mauro Vegni told me this about the new route: “We were supposed to alternate between finishing in Como and Bergamo. However, for political reasons we have finished the race in Como more often in recent years. So this year, we have restarted the pattern of taking turns between the two towns. A start from Como makes it impractical to include Sormano or Civiglio, but we’ve definitely kept in the Madonna del Ghisallo climb, albeit from Asso, for symbolic reasons given that she is the patron of cycling. “The group may be slimmed down by the time the riders reach Zambla Alta, but the selection is more likely on Passo di Ganda. This race is good for an allrounder, but of course we have to factor in their energy levels and motivation at this point in the season.”
ELIMINATION RACE
Coupled with the sometimes inclement autumnal weather of Northern Italy and the cumulative fatigue that riders may be feeling from the season, the final monument of the season is a pure battle of attrition.
Sean Kelly is one of two people to have won the race three times since the 1950s, along with Damiano Cunego. He was not a fan of long climbs, but he managed to hang on to the peloton when he raced in Il Lombaria during the 80s and 90s. The Irishman told Procycling, “If you’re close to your top shape it’s a lovely race to ride. It’s not like riding one of the other classics like Milan-San Remo where you go along the coast for the final 50 or 60km before the Cipressa, or the cobbled classics where it’s dog eat dog and everyone is fighting for position. Lombardy is an elimination process.
“You have nice roads, difficult climbs, and you just follow and watch the riders you think are going to be there in the end.
The peloton gets smaller and smaller as riders start losing contact out of the rear and then it just comes down to maybe 30 riders. In the end, it’s not complicated tactically, as you haven’t that many riders going into the final because of the difficulty.”
Marino Vigna, a gold medallist on the track at the 1960 Olympics and later a directeur sportif to Eddy Merckx at Faema, raced Lombardia from 1961 to 1967 and was a contemporary of Tom Simpson. When Simpson won Il Lombardia in 1965, Vigna struggled to finish the race. He recalls, “Il Lombardia was not a race that suited me. It wasn’t my type of course as I was a sprinter. I only finished it twice. In 1964 I was lucky to have found myself in the right break and hung on to Como. For many of us we would come into the race already tired from the season, so we would be dropped on the hills early on.” Some years later, in 1967, the Milanese was 12th after being dropped but working hard, drafting through the cars to get back into a group containing Eddy Merckx.
That race was won by Franco Bitossi, one of many Italians to have won the race. However, in recent years the nation has had a longer wait to see the Italian
"In the end, it’s not complicated tactically, as you haven’t that many riders going into the final because of the difficulty” Sean Kelly
tricolore on the top step. Only Vicenzo Nibali has won in the last 12 years, and it isn’t clear who will be the heir apparent as Lo Squalo’s career reaches its twilight.
According to Marco Pastonesi, one of the elder statesmen of Italian cycling journalism, it is very important for an Italian to win Il Lombardia. He says, “When an Italian wins it really pushes cycling to the forefront, with an exponential increase in the amount of coverage given by the newspapers and TV, which promotes cycle racing in Italy.”
Meanwhile at the Chiosco del Ghisallo, regardless of who wins, Ivan and his customers will have another celebration of all things cycling on this monumental day.