2012 Il Lombardia: Results

Joaquin Rodriguez (Team Katusha), who finished second in the Giro this year, became the first Spanish rider to win the Il Lombardia (formerly Giro di Lombardia). Rodriguez finished in 6:36:27 with an average speed of 37.987 km/h. Finishing 2nd and 3rd were Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel Euskadi) at 9 seconds and Colombian Rigoberto Uran Uran (Sky Procycling) also at 9 seconds.

On an autumn day with rain slicked roads and pouring rain in the final kilometers Rodriguez, who made the selection on the Muro di Sormano, was able to dispatch any of the remaining contenders on the climb of Villa Vergano and then cross the finish line in Lecco with his arms raised and by himself.

"I was overjoyed when I crossed the line", said Rodriguez. "Il Lombardia is a race that I have always dreamed of winning. I crossed the finish line and threw my water bottle in the air, it's a gesture of good luck and I like to do it when I win."

Rodriguez continued, "I really don't like the rain especially when descending because it's dangerous but in fact when it rains I go well. I am very pleased with my results this year (note: won Fleche-Wallonne, second in the Giro d'Italia, third in the Vuelta a Espana). I was fighting for a double goal today, to win this prestigious competition and to take the lead in the UCI World Tour rankings, and I managed both. So I'm really happy. As for 2013, I am looking forward to seeing the presentation tomorrow of the 2013 Giro d'Italia."

The rain and slick roads caused Philippe Gilbert to crash out of the race, and there were a number of other crashes including that of Vincenzo Nibali who has now crashed in the last two editions at key moments.

The last Italian to win Il Lombardia is Damiano Cunego, in 2008. 

Video summary:


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Il Lombardia Live Streaming Video Information

Since there are readers of ICJ from all over the world let me mention that live streaming of the race by the Gazzetta dello Sport will begin tomorrow at 2:30 PM (Italy time), in Italian of course, here.

A time zone convertor you can use: www.timeanddate.com

Sometime in the past on the Muro di Sormano:

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Recon of Muro di Sormano by Team Lampre

Video here.

The recon of tomorrow's Muro di Sormano in the Il Lombardia was done by Lampre riders Anacona, Ulissi and Niemiec (they appear L-R in the start of the video; sport director Piovani is to far left). For the recon they mounted 36x29 but will decide what to use tomorrow after the recon. This portion of the video is the Muro di Sormano part of a recon day that was 90 km and included the climbs of Eupilio, Sormano, Muro di Sormano, Ello and Villa Vergano.

The video camera is mounted on Ulissi's bike. The Muro di Sormano begins when the riders turn left off the road at 3:52 mark in the video.

Ulissi's expression at the end says it all.

Enjoy the race tomorrow! If you are in a country which is not broadcasting it go to www.cyclingfans.com to find a streaming feed.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome.

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Il Lombarda (Giro di Lombardia) News, Part II

As we reported in Part I, the terrible climb of the Muro di Sormano is back in the route of the 106th edition of the Il Lombardia (formerly named the Giro di Lombardia), exactly 50 years after the 15.8% average, 25-27% max, climb proved so difficult that many riders were forced to get off their bikes and walk. This year the Muro di Sormano, the short but very steep climb near Lake Como, comes after 165km of racing and will be followed by the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo and the short climb to Villa Vergano, where Oliver Zaugg attacked to win the 2011 edition of Il Lombardia.

See this video of the Muro (wall):

Muro Di Sormano from brokenp87 on Vimeo.

The last time the Il Lombardia climbed the Muro di Sormano was in 1962 when Johannes de Roo of the Netherlands won the race. Fausto Coppi is the most successful Il Lombardia winner of all time, winning consecutive race in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950.

The 2012 edition of Il Lombardia will be held on Saturday, September 29, and celebrates Felice Gimondi’s incredible career in the year of his 70th birthday with the start in Bergamo. The race will be bookended with a gala dinner in Bergamo on Friday evening which will be attended by many champions and on Sunday with the GIMONDIBIKE mtb race. Gimondi (far right in photo) said, "I am honored and excited for all that has been organized to celebrate my birthday. Il Lombardia is a great race, one of the five classic "monuments" and who wins here is a champion with a capital "C". I managed to win it twice, in 1966 and 1973. They brought me two great satisfactions and two wonderful memories I carry in my heart."

If you are in Bergamo for the weekend, or in the future, don't forget to visit the only Bianchi concept store in Italy; details previously posted here.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome.

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Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Il Lombarda (Giro di Lombardia) News

The terrible climb of the Muro di Sormano is back in the route of the 106th edition of the Il Lombardia (formerly named the Giro di Lombardia), exactly 50 years after the 15% climb proved so difficult that many riders were forced to get off their bikes and walk. This year the Muro di Sormano, the short but very steep climb near Lake Como, comes after 165km of racing and will be followed by the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo and the short climb to Villa Vergano, where Oliver Zaugg attacked to win the 2011 edition of Il Lombardia. Click on image to enlarge:

The 2012 edition of Il Lombardia will be held on Saturday September 29 and celebrates Felice Gimondi’s incredible career in the year of his 70th birthday with the start in Bergamo. Twenty-five teams will ride Il Lombardia (18 UCI WorldTour teams and 7 Wild Card invitations). Coming just six days after the UCI World road race championships in Limburg, this year’s Il Lombardia will be a real revenge match between the best riders in the world.

The last time the Il Lombardia climbed the Muro di Sormano was in 1962 when Johannes de Roo of the Netherlands won the race. Fausto Coppi is the most successful Il Lombardia winner of all time, winning consecutive race in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950.

The 2012 Il Lombardia starts in Bergamo and after some early hills, tackles the Valcava climb (9.6km long at 9% and an altitude of 1336m). A technical descent takes the race to the Bergamasca Plain and then to the Brianza hills. The Muro di Sormano begins just after Maglio. It is only two kilometres long but has a 15% average gradient. The road is narrow but has recently been resurfaced, with tight hairpin corners that climb at between 25% and 30% at the mid-point of the climb. After Colma, the road descends to the lakeshore and Regatola di Bellagio, and then heads to the Ghisallo. The roads climbs to 754m with an average gradient of 14%. The descent to Asso is very fast and takes the race to Oggiono and the final climb to Villa Vergano, that has a gradient of 15%. The road then descends towards Lecco for the finish on the Isonzo lakeshore.

Sidebar: Quote from Cino Cinelli, winner 1938 when they were using one chainring, "In the (Giro di) Lombardia we used the 48x22 or 50x23. Gino Bartali's Ghisallo gearing was 49x22."
 

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2012 Il Lombardia, Honoring Felice Gimondi in Bergamo

The 2012 Il Lombardia (formerly Giro di Lombardia) will be starting this year in Bergamo to honor the the 70th birthday of  bergamasco Felice Gimondi, his birthday coinciding with the race date of September 29th. The 106th edition of the race will finish again in Lecco.

The race, one of the five "monuments" of the one day classics, is also known as the "Race of the Falling Leaves" ("classica delle foglie morte") as it is normally held in October. However, this year the race has been brought forward to the weekend following the UCI Road World Championships to allow riders to directly benefit from their World Championship form.

Gimondi won all three of the grand tours: Tour de France (1965, his first year as a pro), Giro d'Italia (1967, 1969 and 1976), and Vuelta a España (1968). He remains one of only five cyclists to have done so. He also won the World Championship in 1973, Paris-Roubaix (1966), Milan-Sanremo (1974) and the Giro di Lombardia, among other races, in  1966 and 1973.

Photo: www.bikeraceinfo.com

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2012 Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo, Il Lombarida Wild Card Selections

The wild card teamns for the 2012 editions of Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo, and Il Lombardia have also been announced today as follows (Italian teams in bold):


Tirreno – Adriatico, 7-13 March:
Acqua & Sapone (ITA)
Colnago – CSF Inox (IRL)
Colombia – Coldeportes (COL)
Farnese Vini (GBR)


Milano – Sanremo, 17 March:
Acqua & Sapone (ITA)
Colnago – CSF Inox (IRL)
Colombia – Coldeportes (COL)
Farnese Vini (GBR)
Project 1t4I (NED)
Team Type 1 – Sanofi (USA)
Utensilnord Named (IRL)


Il Lombardia, 29 September:
Acqua & Sapone (ITA)
Androni Giocattoli (ITA)
Colnago – CSF Inox (IRL)
Colombia – Coldeportes (COL)
Farnese Vini (GBR)
Project 1t4I (NED)
Utensilnord Named (IRL)

Notably, Acqua & Sapone was selected for these three races but not for the Giro d'Italia. The decision leaves Stefano Garzelli, a popular rider, Giro winner, and two time green jersey winner, out of the Giro.

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,200 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.