Tour of Lombardy returns to explosive finale and welcomes 'viral' wildcard team: 'Now it’s time to return to Italy'

The Tour of Lombardy is always late in announcing the route. Now, a few weeks before the start of the last Monument of the year, the route is finally set. As is well known, the start this time is in Bergamo and the finish in Como, but for the final stretch, a repeat of the 2022 route in on the cards.

Since 2020, the RCS, the organisation behind the Tour of Lombardy, has adopted the now-familiar format. Each year, Como and Bergamo alternate as the start and finish locations. Last year, the race started in Como and finished in Bergamo, with the Passo di Ganda serving as the decisive climb. Tadej Pogaċar secured his fifth consecutive victory.

Now that the finish is in Como, a few aspects of the course have become clear again. San Fermo della Battaglia was set to make its return to the route, but what would the rest of it look like? Now we know. A relatively short route has been chosen, covering 239 kilometers. And we’ll soon come across a new addition to the route.

The Selvino climb has actually been moved up. It was originally scheduled to debut in 2024, but will now be the very first challenge, with 10.1 kilometers at a 5.9 percent gradient: a great warm-up.

After the descent, we arrive at the well-known Berbenno-Valpiana duo: the Berbenno climb is 4.5 kilometers at a 6.3 percent gradient, immediately followed by the Valpiana (10.4 kilometers at a 6.1 percent gradient).

After a flat stretch in the valley, we tackle the Giovenzana climb. This is a new addition to the route—and not just any climb. It’s 3.6 kilometers long, with an average gradient of 9.2 percent. The gradient even reaches 16 percent. But since there are still well over 100 kilometers to go from the summit, it won’t have a major impact. Only after another flat stretch will the climbing begin again.

And that happens on the Madonna del Ghisallo, the legendary climb that must be tackled every year. When the bells ring at the summit, the riders still have about sixty kilometers to go. The kilometers that follow are relatively flat, after which the final stretch will be explosive. The organisers have opted to repeat the 2022 route, when Tadej Pogacar beat Enric Mas.

The San Fermo della Battaglia (2.7 kilometers at a 7.2 percent gradient), the decisive climb toward Como, is tackled for the first time 29 kilometers from the finish. Next comes the Civiglio, the toughest climb of the final stretch, at 4.2 kilometers with a 9.7 percent gradient. Shortly after that, the race returns to San Fermo, from where it’s about five kilometers to the finish line.

The Unibet Rose Rockets have made great strides in recent years. In 2025, they competed in a Monument for the first time at Paris-Roubaix, and this year they were back on the starting line of the Hell of the North. They also secured starting spots for the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo. With the Tour of Lombardy, they can now add a fourth Monument of the year to that list.

“Being invited to the Tour of Lombardy is very special for us,” Tietema said in a press statement. “Last year we rode our first Monument, and now, a year later, we’re already set to ride our fourth Monument of the season.”

"Add to that races like the Strade Bianche, the Amstel Gold Race, the Flèche Wallonne, and other Flemish classics; sometimes you just have to take a moment to appreciate how quickly this team is progressing." We have to agree with Tietema on that: by 2026, Unibet Rose Rockets will have more than doubled last year’s UCI points total.