The lake and the final embrace of the cycling year. The melancholy of Il Lombardia

In that game of ping-pong (which, it must be said, hardly anyone plays anymore) that is the Giro di Lombardia (and it matters little that it’s simply called Il Lombardia; here we stick to tradition, ed.), this year it’s Como’s turn to be the finish and Bergamo the start. A year ago, it was the other way round.

Lake Como will provide the backdrop for the cyclists during the decisive stages of the race. A long backdrop that begins in Pescate, on the branch of Lake Como facing Lecco, continues as far as the sanctuary of the Madonna del Ghisallo, is interrupted as far as Lora because the ridge of the Triangolo Lariano blocks the view of the lake, before resuming for the final thirty-five kilometres of the season’s last Monument Classic in cycling. The interlude without the green and grey waters of Lake Como could have been shorter, but the organisers preferred to omit the climb up to Colma di Sormano via Il Muro, and that gruelling series of ascents and descents along the former Strada Regia – now Provincial Road 583 Lariana – which links Nesso, where the descent from Colma ends, to Como. A regrettable yet pragmatic decision: in that stretch, especially above Blevio, the mountains are prone to landslides, and a single storm is often enough to force residents to abandon the slopes and seek refuge in the valley.

While Bergamo may lay claim to the race’s heritage, it is the finish in Como that best encapsulates the Giro di Lombardia’s spirit. The route itself is not the decisive factor; rather, it is the setting. In autumn, Lake Como provides the ideal backdrop, heightening the melancholy of a cycling season that is drawing to a close. Lake Como in autumn amplifies that sense of desolation we invariably feel when we realise that, for a while – several months, in fact – the major races will take a break, and the great riders along with them. A break that is, let’s be clear, entirely justified, but this realisation does nothing to dispel the melancholy.

Of course, there is the Paris–Tours, and there are the Venetian races – the Giro del Veneto and the Veneto Classic – which, thanks to Pippo Pozzato, have been revived in an attractive new guise, but this is a small, albeit very welcome, consolation.

The Giro di Lombardia is a farewell, even though for years now, the ‘dead leaves’ (it is also known as the ‘Classic of the Dead Leaves’, ed.) have not always been visible, as they either arrive too early due to excessive dryness or too late due to freak weather conditions. The Lombardia is a time for farewells. And when bicycles are involved, farewells are not really very welcome. In fact, people tend to avoid them. Riders wrap up warmer – new materials ensure a pleasant warmth even in the colder months, which are now less cold – and set off later, but it’s hard to give up cycling.

In Como, and on the way to Como, we’ll be left with memories of what we hope will be the final, superb rides of a season that has thrilled us, surprised us, filled us with joy and moved us to tears (yes, I’m referring to the Paris–Roubaix won by Wout van Aert). The two climbs towards San Fermo della Battaglia, interspersed with the one towards Civiglio, may mark the last occasion on which the world’s best riders go head-to-head. Of course, the hope is that they will continue to race in Veneto, but globalised cycling sometimes confronts us with the ‘cruelty’ of energy calculations.

In Lombardy, one becomes sentimental, not least because a farewell along Lake Como is something capable of softening even the hardest of hearts.