Roll up, roll up. Welcome one and all to the final monument of the season. It's Il Lombardia day and we're just 10 minutes away from the riders rolling out of Bergamo this morning.
It might be October but it is a fine day out there as you can see by this picture from the start line by our very own Stephen Farrand.
For a full list of today's starters, click here. We've also combined a list of 10 riders to watch, although it's more like nine with Tom Dumoulin now out of the game. For the purposes of being even, imagine that we put Adam Yates in that list. He had a great Milano-Torino on Thursday and could do well today.
The riders have set off from Bergamo. We have four former winners in the pack today with Vincenzo Nibali, Dan Martin, Philippe Gilbert and Damiano Cunego. Last year's winner Esteban Chaves was ruled out last week after a bad crash at the Giro dell'Emilia. It has been a tough season for Chaves with knee problems disrupting much of the opening part of the year for the Colombian.
The riders have set off from Bergamo. We have four former winners in the pack today with Vincenzo Nibali, Dan Martin, Philippe Gilbert and Damiano Cunego. Last year's winner Esteban Chaves was ruled out last week after a bad crash at the Giro dell'Emilia. It has been a tough season for Chaves with knee problems disrupting much of the opening part of the year for the Colombian.
Once again, for this year's race the organisers have flipped the parcours. As it did in 2015, the race kicks off in Bergamo and finishes in Como with the challenging finale that includes the infamous Muro di Sormano,
The official start has been given and two riders are already trying to break free of the peloton. They have a very small margin as it stands.
Davide Ballerini and Jacques Janse Van Rensburg are the two riders that jumped off the front right after the start. The gap is just 33 seconds at the moment. The peloton isn't ready to let them go just yet.
Michal Kwiatkowski taking pictures with fans this morning. The Polish rider has been playing down his chances of taking out a win today.
Ballerini and Van Rensburg now have a bit more company out front. We now have six riders at the head of affairs and we'll bring you names as soon as we have them.
The riders that have joined the two that were already out front are; Lorenzo Rota (Bardiani-CSF), Matthias Le Turnier (Cofidis), Pier Paolo De Negri (Nippo Vini Fantini) and Lennard Hofstede (Sunweb). The gap remains a very small 30 seconds.
211km remaining from 247km
While there are a number of riders who stand a serious chance of winning today, it is perhaps Vincenzo Nibali and Rigoberto Uran that have stood out as the two biggest favourites. Nibali put on a good performance at Tre Valli Varesine and won on this course two years ago. Uran won Milano-Torino on Thursday, although he was put under pressure by Adam Yates in the finale.
It seems that this move is the break of the day. In the last few minutes their advantage has grown to 4:40 over the peloton as we approach the first ascent of the day.
Away from today's racing, Nacer Bouhanni has said sorry for the verbal attack he issued towards Rudy Barbier after yesterday's Paris-Bourges race. Although, he still maintains that Barbier's sprint was dangerous. You can read the full story here.
An update on the breakaway. The gap continues to balloon out. It now stands at a chunky 7:45 ahead of the peloton.
Mikel Landa made his return to racing earlier in the week after enjoying two months out of racing. It's hard to say where is form is at, but he could well be a contender today if he's got the legs. Team Sky has a few options today if he doesn't.
It might be sunny today but Landa's teammate Gianni Moscon is racing under a cloud today. He was accused by the FDJ team of deliberately causing Sebastien Reichenbach to crash during Tre Valli Varesine. Reichenbach has filed a complaint against the Italian and team boss Marc Madiot says he will look for damages if Moscon is found guilty.
A whopping 10 minutes for the six escapees now. The peloton is happy to give them plenty of space. It has been a long season and they're not about to race all out if they don't need to.
Nairo Quintana is in the bunch today for the first time in four years. In recent seasons he's ended his year after the Vuelta a Espana, but after taking on the Giro-Tour double he has decided to ride the Italian Classic. He finished 16th in his last experience and could be a dark horse today. Former runner-up Daniel Moreno is not part of the team's line-up today.
The riders hit the Colle Gallo and the gap continues to go out. The 7.4km rise is the first of six ascents today. It maxes out at 10% and averages 6%.
It has been like a game of chicken in the peloton as to who cracks and takes up the pace-setting first. Cannondale-Drapac were the first to crack as the escapees build their advantage to 11:30. They won with Dan Martin in 2014 and they've got a real shot of doing it again with Rigoberto Uran.
These are the six riders who managed to break free of the peloton earlier today. Janse van Rensberg and Ballerini were the first to go, with Rota, Hofstede, Le Turnier and De Negri following a little later on.
A mechanical problem for Cofidis rider Guillaume Bonnafond. He has been quickly attended to and he's back on his way. Meanwhile, Cannondale-Drapac is still quite happy to let the escapees grow their advantage. The six have 12 minutes on the bunch. They'd have time to make and drink a cup of tea at this rate (provided they put a drop of milk in to cool it down).
Although, being cyclists it would probably be a coffee rather than a cup of tea.
Sorry for all that tea talk. I think I just needed a cup myself. Right, in the actual racing, the Colle Gallo has been dispatched with and the riders are well on their way to the second ascent of the day, the Colle Brianza. That peaks out after 115km of racing.
Bahrain-Merida has pitched in at the front of the peloton and has taken over the pace-setting duties from Cannondale-Drapac for a little while at least.
Fabio Aru is a potential contender for today's win. The Italian national champion finished 11th in last year's race, and he's had another solid build-up to the race with 11th at the Giro dell'Emilia, 8th at Tre Valli Varesine and 3rd at Milano-Torino. Read what he had to say ahead of today's race here.
Bahrain-Merida is having an impact on the advantage of the six escapees. They've brought the gap down below the 10-minute mark now.
Italy has a good representation in that escape group with Ballerini, Rota and De Negri. The latter is the most experienced of the Italian trio at 31. He's competed in the last three Il Lombardia. The other two are almost a decade younger than the Nippo-Vini Fantini rider and are making their debuts at the Monument.
153km remaining from 247km
Velon has gps on lots of the riders in the bunch and they've clocked Vincenzo Nibali's average speed over the first hour of racing at 42.8kph. The bunch is certainly going quicker than that at the moment.
Meanwhile, if you look at Davide Ballerini's stats from the opening hour the Italian had to push out an average of 55kph to make sure that he got into the breakaway. So, that is a small insight into what it takes to make it into a break.
Bahrain-Merida and Cannondale-Drapac continue to share the pacing duties in the peloton. Astana and Movistar has some riders close to the front, but they're keeping their nose out of the wind for now.
100 kilometres down and the peloton has eased off again to allow the gap to the escapees go over 7 minutes. The Colle Brianza is coming up very soon.
This could be one of the last races, if not the last, that we see Fabio Aru in Astana colours if reports are correct. Rumours are swirling around this weekend that Aru is close to penning a deal with UAE Team Emirates. If they turn out to be correct then he would be racing alongside Dan Martin, who is already confirmed as a new signing. They've also secured Alex Kristoff for next year, although that wouldn't concern Aru.
The riders are closing in on the halfway point of today's ride and the gap has dropped to six minutes now. The key part of the course begins just after the second feed zone at the 160km mark. If you fancy reminding yourself of last year's exciting race then look no further than here.
If you missed the news earlier this week, Team Sunweb rider Tom Dumoulin is not racing today after falling sick. Read the full story here.
It's still a glorious day out there for the leaders, but it's going to get a lot more difficult very soon - not that it's been an easy day so far.
It continues to be Brendan Canty for Cannondale-Drapac and Domen Novak for Bahrain-Merida pulling the peloton along. They're doing a solid job out there and have brought the leaders back to 5:30. It's clear from their work which teams see themselves as the major favourites for today.
Both Nibali and Uran have some strength and experience behind them. Riders such as Pillizotti, Gasparotto and Visconti will be important for Nibali later in the day.
Uran's support network is a big younger but there is plenty of strength. Riders such as Bettiol, Villella, Formolo and Slagter provide some serious back-up. Someone like Villella could be a decent plan B if things go wrong for Uran.
A fight between these two is not a foregone conclusion, because there are so many riders that could feasibly take the title at the end of today. Tim Wellens has a good shot at glory today. We've not seen him race since the World Championships, but his style of racing is well suited to this parcours and he could slip some of the favourites if he times it right.
As mentioned earlier, Adam Yates should be kept under a watchful eye by the other teams in the peloton. He made a very strong chase down of Rigoberto Uran in the final of Milan-Torino, but didn't have enough road to overhaul him. He'll have to get his timing a bit better today. If he does win, he'll be only the third British winner of a monument after Tom Simpson and Mark Cavendish.
Quick-Step Floors has an embarrassment of riches in their team with two former winners in Philippe Gilbert and Dan Martin. They've also got the super aggressive Julian Alaphilippe, plus a whole host of very strong riders. They've not been able to turn that power into success in Italy, but maybe today is the day.
Thibaut Pinot has been on the podium at Il Lombardia before. He finished third in 2015 when Nibali won and he's had a good string of results in the build-up to this year's race. He finished eighth at the Giro dell'Emilia, second at Tre Valli Varesine and 8th at Milano-Torino. He's lost Sebastian Reichenbach after he broke his elbow in a crash at Tre Valli Varesine but he still has a strong team behind him.
100km remaining from 247km
You can see here that Movistar is starting to get in on the action at the front.
Quintana could be a bit of a dark horse today. He's lacked some of the explosiveness that is needed for this style of riding but we shouldn't write him off. Marc Soler will be one to keep an eye on later in the race too.
Other riders to watch out for today that we haven't mentioned already are: Warren Barguil, Domenico Pozzovivo, Alex Geniez, Egan Bernal, Rafal Majka, Nicolas Roche, Lilian Calmajane, Enrico Battaglin, Diego Rosa, Rui Costa, Daniel Martinez and Bauke Mollema. Just to name a few.
Five minutes is the latest time check for the leaders as Movistar moves to the front of the bunch. It has been Bahrain-Merida and Cannondale-Drapac doing most of the grunt work so far today.
After four hours of racing the average speed is a smidge over 40kph.
75km remaining from 247km
We also have Team Sky now in the mix. The peloton wants to bring these escapees into check before too late in the race. This blistering pace has seen the advantage demolished to just 2:30 and it is tumbling.
73km remaining from 247km
Team Sky briefly split the peloton, but they have knocked off the pace a little. There have been some victims though. Laurens ten Dam, who was a late call-up after Tom Dumoulin pulled out, has been dropped off the back of the bunch.
71km remaining from 247km
Herrada has been caught and dropped by a number of riders. It's very active at the front of the peloton.
Primoz Roglic is one of the riders in this first chasing group. Laurens De Plus, Jan Polanc, Rodolfo Torres, Mikael Cherel and Alessandro De Marchi are also in that move.
69km remaining from 247km
The other members of that chasing group look like they are about to be caught by the peloton. Ballerini pushes on in leading group and only Le Turnier can go with him.
De Negri has been brought back by the Roglic group. They're still 24 seconds off the leading group, which contains just two riders now.
This Roglic group is powering along. They've mopped up the other three dropped riders. So we've got Ballerini and Le Tunier up front, Roglic and co behind and then the peloton. No indication as to how far back the peloton is from this chase group.
64km remaining from 247km
As the two leaders approach the top of the Ghisallo, Le Turnier ups the pace and blows Ballerini right out the back. Ballerini is within sight of Cherel and De Plus, who have broke clear of the chase group.
How long can Le Turnier hang on? It doesn't look like long. Cherel and De Plus have dropped Ballerini and are now bringing back the Frenchman.
Le Turnier is caught before the top of the Ghisallo. The riders crest the climb and begin their descent. Next up is the Sormano. My legs hurt just thinking about it.
61km remaining from 247km
Le Turnier is back with the two other leaders on this descent. They're scything down this descent. The riders behind aren't hanging about either, but 30 seconds separates the two groups.
That second chase group has beefed up on the descent as a few riders regain some ground. There is no relenting as the leaders hit the lower slopes of the Sormano.
The three leaders are putting in a decent effort at the moment. They've pushed the gap up to 40 seconds. It's not much but it's better than the 20 they had not that long ago.
Meanwhile, Bahrain-Merida has taken up the front of the peloton. Things appeared to have calmed down in the bunch for now, but probably no for very long.
The chase group has been trimmed down to just five riders now. UAE have two with Conti and Polanc in there. Anacona is in there for Movistar and Roglic is still in there. One of the Bardiani riders is also there, I presume it is Rota but we'll wait and see.
A curious moment in the break. Cherel appears to be telling his companions to slow things down, perhaps he wants the additional company of the chasers.
53km remaining from 247km
A large group of rider, including Alessandro de Marchi, tried to jump clear of the peloton but they have been brought back by FDJ.
The leaders hit the Muro di Sormano and Cherel drops the other two. He had a long injury layoff this season, but he's looking strong at the moment.
If you ever wondered about the brutality of the Sormano, just take a look at this.
Vincenzo Nibali has to push a fan out of the way who is trying to run with the group. It's a bad idea at the best of times but on these roads there just isn't enough space. Nibali and the rest of the riders get through unscathed.
51km remaining from 247km
Cherel is pacing himself well here. He's got 22 seconfs on the next rider, which is Laurens de Plus. Le Turnier is about to be caught by Roglic and Conti with the peloton just a little further back down the road. GPS says it is 30 seconds between the two groups but that is doubtful.
The peloton continues to gradually reel riders back in. It's now just Cherel, De Plus and Roglic ahead of the group. Cherel has a 28-second advantage over De Plus as they head over the top of the climb.
Mikel Nieve almost has an incident as he tries to pick up some refreshments. He's ok though. Meanwhile, another fan gets a bit too excited and give Nibali a bit of a shove, getting in the way of other riders in the process.
So, that is the Sormano dispatched with. Next up is the Civiglio, but there is a very fast descent and the ride through the valley first. 22 seconds for Cherel over De Plus.
A squeaky bum moment for Cherel as he misjudges a corner. He's giving it beans right now, but De Plus is gaining on him. Just 19 seconds between the two groups.
43km remaining from 247km
A massive crash for De Plus. He goes over the guardrail. We do hope he is not too injured. We will bring you news as we get it.
A replay shows that De Plus went two fast into the corner. He tried to control it but his back wheel stepped out and he had nowhere to go. It's quite a steep drop on the other ride of those rails.
Teams are allowed radios in this race, so they will have been informed about the crash. It looks like at least on of De Plus' teammates has stopped to help him out. There are ambulances and a stretcher at the scene.
It looks like De Plus didn't go too far down the slope. He is just on the other side of the guardrail. He is lying down, but no word on his condition just yet.
With De Plus now out of the race, Cherel has a comfortable gap of over a minute on the peloton. Philippe Gilbert has decided to go on the attack with one of the BMC riders, Caruso perhaps.
The BMC rider with Gilbert is De Marchi. I should have guessed as much, he's never seen a breakaway he doesn't like.
Reports coming in that there are four doctors with De Plus at the moment. Still no word on his condition.
31km remaining from 247km
23 seconds between the chase group and the peloton behind. Pello Bilbao of Astana is trying to bridge the gap.
Bilbao has joined up with De Marchi and Gilbert now. All three of these riders could pose a threat in terms of the win, particularly Gilbert, but they are also good springboards for their teammates. Either way, they're saving their team a little bit of work in the bunch. It is FDJ that has to do the chasing at the moment.
Quick-Step Floors confirms that it was Dries Devenyns that stopped to check up on De Plus.
Cherel has been caught by the chasers now.
Rafal Majka drops back to get something from the car. It was small whatever it was, because I couldn't see what it was. Either that or I need a new glasses prescription.
Some very good news coming from the Quick-Step camp. De Plus is talking and has avoided any serious injury following that crash. You can all breathe now.
FDJ is working very hard on the front but it is a strong group out front and they're being held at 30 seconds for now. The Civiglio the next climb to come.
20km remaining from 247km
Former winner Dan Martin has been dropped very early on the Civiglio climb. It doesn't look like he'll be in contention today.
Riders being brought back by the peloton now. Cherel was unsurprisingly the first to crack, Gilbert and De Marchi were next and Bilbao is struggling to keep ahead.
18km remaining from 247km
Gianni Moscon attacks now and he is followed by one of the Sunweb riders.
The Sunweb rider with Moscon is Sam Oomen.
Thibaut Pinot is trying to get across to Oomen and Moscon.
Nibali is leading the chase behind with Quintana and Uran on his wheel.
That is Nairo rather than Dayer, as they're both in the race.
The bunch regroups at the front but not for very long as Pinot goes on the attack.
Aru and Alaphilipp are in a group just behind the Nibali group and trying to get back in contact.
It looks like Wellens is back in that group too. He's labouring.
17km remaining from 247km
Pozzovivo has been caught and passed by Nibali, who is now with Pinot.
They're on a short descent. Once upon a time this would have cracked Pinot but he's holding onto Nibali fairly well. The Italian has a small gap but not too much.
14km remaining from 247km
Uran has jumped out of the chasing group on the descent. He needs to put in a mighty chase to keep his hopes of victory alive. He's had too many third places in this race, three to be precise.
Nibali may have just broken Pinot. The gap between the two grows out very quickly. It's like 2015 all over again.
10km remaining from 247km
The GPS has Nibali 7 seconds ahead of Pinot, but I'll take that information with a pinch of salt at this stage. They're been quite rusty today.
Nibali is tantalisingly close for Pinot, who can see him just up the road. Behind, Moscon has joined up with Uran in group three. They are 43 seconds behind Nibali now.
Nibali starts the final small climb. He's got just over 7 kilometres to the finish. Can he hold Pinot off and win his second Lombardia?
It appears there has been a bit of a regrouping behind Pinot. Diego Rosa has now gone on the attack. It's the first time we've seen the Italian all day.
It looks like Rigoberto Uran is in trouble. He has been dropped from the group on this climb. Meanwhile, Rosa has been brought back and Pozzovivo is attacking again. With him is Quintana and Alaphilippe.
They are brought back but the attacks are relentless from this group. Aru is the next to have a pop.
5km remaining from 247km
An attack from Alaphilippe from group three. It's a stinging move and nobody can go with him. Pinot is looking over his shoulder, perhaps he knows the Frenchman is not too far behind.
Alaphilippe has caught Pinot, so he wasn't too far behind at all. Alaphilippe pushes on and Pinot has to work hard to keep in his wheel.
3km remaining from 247km
2km remaining from 247km
Under the flamme rouge for Nibali
Huge crowds to greet him as he makes his way to the line.
He looks over his shoulder and realises that he's got this. Alaphilippe has just entered the final kilometre.
Nibali speaks into his team radio and then starts celebrating as he crosses the line.
Alaphilippe takes second. Crossing the line 31 seconds later.
It is a reduced bunch sprint for third place. It looks like Moscon has taken third.
That is Nibali's second Lombardia win in three years and the second time he's won on this exact course. His daughter and wife are on hand to congratulate him.
Nibali capitalised on the original move by Pinot before distancing him on the descent of the Civiglio. Once he'd got rid of Pinot, he never looked like he would give away that lead.
It was a pitch perfect ride from Nibali today. He tested the waters in Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday, but he didn't put a foot wrong today. It's hard not to feel for Pinot. He did a lot of work but didn't have the legs to stay out in front.
It looks like Vuillermoz was unhappy with Moscon's sprint and a replay shows him giving out as they cross the line. I didn't see the incident, but Vuillermoz is missing from the final results at the moment.
Moscon has told reporters that it was just a racing incident between the two.
This is the provisional top 10 for now though.
And a few words from your race winner today as the crowd chants his name: "I got big support from my team I had great physical condition from the end of the season but everyone was looking to me as the favourite so it wasn’t easy to win.
Vincenzo Nibali is spraying the champagne now on the podium, but here he was as he crossed the line just a little while ago.
There has been a bit of confusion over Vuillermoz. He was initially missing from the top 10, AG2R reported that he had been DSQ'd but he has now been reinstated. Stephen Farrand has been told that there was a mix up with the timing and Vuillermoz was confused for his teammate Pozzovivo on the timing sheets.
This is the second monument podium for Julian Alaphilippe this season after finishing third at Milan-San Remo in March. He says that rather than being disappointed about not winning, he is happy to have finished second.
AG2R La Mondiale is reporting that Jan Bakelants suffered a bad crash during the race. We will try to bring you news on her before our live coverage closes but there will be news on the website as soon as we get it if not.
We already have plenty of photos and a brief report and results available. You can find that all here and the full versions will be up very soon.
You can also read up on Laurens De Plus and his crash on the descent of the Sormano. Thankfully, he came out with no serious injury.
No update on Jan Bakelant's condition just yet, but AG2R La Mondiale reports that he went down in the same place as De Plus. We're going to close our live coverage now but keep tuned to Cyclingnews for updates and reactions from today's race. If you're not completely sick of me, I'll be back for live coverage of Paris-Tours tomorrow. Until then.
-
2025 Tour of the Alps includes 14,700m of climbing in just 739km and five days of racing
Route revealed in front of Christian Prudhomme and UCI President David Lappartient -
The 2025 UCI calendar could have a major gap as two February races are in doubt
Tour Colombia facing budget hurdles, could face cancellation, adding to potential absence of Volta a Valenciana -
Maxim Van Gils' contract battle with Lotto Dstny pushes pro cycling towards a football-style transfer market system
'Soon, a contract will no longer mean anything' team managers tells RTBF
-
American Criterium Cup juggles eight-race US calendar for fourth edition in 2025
Racing begins June 6 at Saint Francis Tulsa Tough, with remaining schedule zig-zagging across central US -
Black Friday bike deals 2024: The best cycling deals this 'Fake Friday'
Save on bikes, clothing, accessories and tech from the likes of Castelli, Assos, Specialized, Wahoo and much more -
Summit of fearsome Mortirolo climb in Italy renamed after Marco Pantani
Italian's blazing ascent of Mortirolo in 1994 treasured page of Giro d'Italia history
-
'We don't know his limits on the road' - Will Tom Pidcock ride the 2025 Tour de France?
Briton's coach Kurt Bogaerts says 'we still haven't seen the ultimate performance in a Grand Tour yet' from Pidcock -
Archibald and Bibic to defend titles in new UCI Track Champions League series
Five-round series starts Saturday, November 23 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France -
Josh Tarling: 'Things can only go up' at Ineos Grenadiers in 2025
20-year-old calls the challenge of bringing British team back to the top 'exciting'
