For amateur cyclists and cyclo-tourists alike, the road that goes from Como to Bergamo offers the perfect landscape.
It borders lakes Alserio, Pusiano, Annone and Garlate and, if you wish to enjoy some of the beauty that is Lake Como, a possible variation to the itinerary lets you travel alongside its shores to Nesso. This is where you leave the lakes behind you to make your way up to Pian del Tivano, which leads to the celebrated cycling site of Colma di Sormano.
It is on the Colma di Sormano that cycling enthusiasts of all sorts can get a strong sense of the Giro di Lombardia, despite it not being factored in the route of the 115th edition, which also doesn’t include the many other roads where the impact of the panorama is breath-taking.
This is the nature of Lombardy: an extraordinary and never-ending variety of cycling routes that will quench the desires of any aficionado.
However, 9 October, 2021, is an important date because Il Lombardia 2021 finally returns to reclaim its place in the international calendar: in autumn, to continue to live up to its nickname, “Classica delle Foglie Morte” – the Race of the Falling Leaves. Therefore, this year’s route is a sort of re-emergence of the legend, and the organisers, of the hundreds of possible options between Como and Bergamo, could only pick one. Their choice? The course that includes an elevation change of 4500 metres.
In this edition, the amazing story of road cycling continues by passing the Sanctuary of Madonna del Ghisallo, a location that is impossible to say no to for true bike lovers. Another must-see is the descent towards Bellaggio, where you again come in spectacular contact with Lake Como.
The road then becomes an interminable sequence of climbs and descents among the Orobic Prealps, which counts, among its most difficult challenges, the ascent to Roncola Alta, in the first half of the race, and the climb up to Passo di Ganda, the last truly rough moment before the fast descent towards Bergamo.
Between the two, in order to complete the picture of a particularly demanding Giro di Lombardia, the racers will have to face the long 24 km climb taking them from San Pellegrino Terme to the 1257-meters of Zambla Alta.
It is the very essence of Lombardy that gives the organisers such a vast choice of courses: indeed, the region offers an uninterrupted chain of cycling panoramas that open up at every turn. So much so that one would be tempted to feel a little sorry for the professionals who, due to the necessary competitive trance they inevitably fall into, are unable to enjoy the eye-catching views offered by Il Lombardia.
Which, at the end of the day, if you take a closer look, is just one of the many enticing cycling itineraries of Lombardy that anyone can relish.