Here we are then, Italy. The Giro di Lombardia. The race of the falling leaves - or judging by the weather today, the race of the falling rain! It's a wet finale for the 2011 season, and the bookies have named 3 men as favourites for the day. Frank Schleck needs no introduction, the man to beat in the Hills, he has 3 Hilly classics to his name so far this season - including Badaling International, the race most similar to this one. Also highly tipped is Russian Yuri Trofimov. But Worlds aside, he seems to have struggled as the season has worn on - even at his home Yekeratinburg race. It means his ProTour individual lead has gone, lost to the Italian favourite Damiano cunego. 5 Giros in a row he has won for La Gazetta dello Sport (initially Lampre) but the team is set to bow out of the sport, and so Cunego goes on the market. He will be very keen for a triumphant farewell.
For a guide to the profile, and the key climbs, look no further than this extract from last year's report:
Spoiler
First, after 28km we start the San Fedele d'Inteleni which with 8.8km at an average of 6.6% will be a good warm up for the riders and will probably decided who is in the break today.
Then, peaking after 117km we have the longest climb of the day, the Premana, at 23.7km it is almost mountainous in nature. It averages 6.6% but for most of the climb the gradient is about 8%. We will probably see the peleton start to pick up the pace as leaders try to put their opponents in difficulty,
Next up is the Madonna del Ghisallo finishing 56km out. It has some fairly vicious sections at over ten percent and is about 8km in length. Some of the lesser favourites may make a move here.
The penultimate climb, the Civiglo is 6.6km and finishes 3km from the finish, it is step like in nature so anyone trying to get away here will need to time their attack to perfection, or they may be pulled back on the sharp downhill before the final climb.
Short and Sharp, San Fermo della Battaglia is only 2.3km but at 10% and after 250km of riding it must feel like forever for these riders. Only 6km to the finish from the top so a gap over the top of this climb will be tough to close down for any chasers.
Now, onto the racing!
Except, nobody really felt like it to start with. Riding through the early flat, and onto the first climb with no attacks. If anything can be read into who is setting the pace, then look out for the leaders of La Gazzetta, Energie, Pearl and Vespa - Gert Steegmans leading the race onto the first uphill kilometres here
Towards the top of this hill, we finally get some action. Ricardo Mestre leads the way, and a break of 10 forms: Kvasina, Matamoros, Pecharroman, Fouquet, Ardila Cano, Di Gregorio, Traficante, Mancuso and Bouet join him.
Fast forward 35km to the next climb of note - the Premana. Assan Bazayev crashes, not too important - but moments later a far more significant clash of wheels - going uphill aswell. Roman Kreuziger is badly hurt - infact that's his season over, race abandoned. But theres another down, an Italian!
Festina team leader Diego Ulissi!! He has a crucial role to play in achieving 3rd overall for the team in the ProTour standings. But this is not good at all for him. Kvist, Bernaudeau and Vingerling drop back to help, but perhaps its no coincidence that the pace in the pack is picking up. A lot of presence from La Gazzetta, but Manuele Mori is also applying significant pressure
And Ulissi is really struggling - at one point dropped by his so-called weaker teammates. He picks himself up a little, and along with Kvist, starts to make a little more progress - but theres going to be no way back, just a race of picking past others as they fall off the pace up front.
The break's lead has now been reduced to 5 minutes, dont expect it to get so high again
Attack time! For one rider anyway. Wiggle mainstay Leonardo Bertagnolli - with the team as long as the sponsor has been - is off on a solo adventure
Warner Brothers, Vesuvio and Cafe de Colombia are all helping La Gazzetta with the pace - but while it is too much for Ulissi to regain, its not enough to halt a determined Bertagnolli. After 20km he catches the break, whose lead is now dipping under 3 minutes.
With 97km to go, it looks like former TDF winner Markus Fothen is also keen to attack. But no he doesnt, Giovanni Visconti of the relegating Starbucks does instead - and evidently Fothen was just moving quickly forward as Pearl take over the pace setting. Jose Rujano is also involved in lifting the pace here.
Visconti links up with the breakaway, as Cabreira, Pereiro and Broco all crash out of the peloton. Its moving fast now, not just Pearl leading the way, and as we start the famed Madonna del Ghisallo the gap is barely over a minute
And the break stands no chance as David de la Fuente hits the front, game over for the breakaway
De la Fuente is enjoying dishing out some pain, and when he pulls off, Maxim Iglinski is more than happy to continue the process - and thats Jose Angel Gomez Marchante primed to do the same in the wheel of Iglinski
It's no longer an enjoyable final race for many - including Alessandro Ballan - now falling off the back of the peloton
No huge slips on the Madonna del Ghisallo though and over the next 20km it is largely left to Iglinski to set the tempo. At 27km to go, we are roughly at the point where Samuel Sanchez launched his move last year, and never looked back. Yuri Trofimov has taken the wheel of Iglinski, and looks set to do something?
Maybe not though. Hagen is there alongside him, Bakelandts in his wheel, and Spilak then in his wheel. And still Iglinski is making things tough
When the slope weakens, Gomez Marchante and De la Fuente reemerge to help Iglinski, but the race is all about the Kazakh as we head under 20km to go. Just like with the Worlds, riders seem in no rush to attack - tough season perhaps? Duarte is also lending a hand, and soon its 10km to go.
And so to the last climb then, the San Fermo della Battaglia. Only a couple of kilometres, but very steep. Sounds like the perfect kind of hill for a certain Frank Schleck...
And everyone is either caught out napping, or just have little left from Iglinski battering the strength out of them. Either way, the Vesuvio team effort has worked, and off Schleck goes!
It's up to an Italian to lead the response - but not who you might expect! Wiggle's Damiano Caruso is in pursuit
But Schleck has flown away, out of the tunnel and into the open - not the sight the Trofimov fan at the side of the road wanted to see!
Caruso also gets clear, but nobody else has much of a response. Lipton, Domina and Pearl attempting some sort of chase, while Cunego is not looking comfortable at all in his riding style - Valverde a little further forward than him but also not on the best of rides it seems. Our 3rd attack then comes in the shape of Luis Leon Sanchez. If Energie-Diesel are going down, they are determined to do so with their heads held high
Less than 3km after attacking, Frank Schleck is descending to victory. A 40 second lead already with 5km to go!
What a wide from Damiano Caruso though. The Italian selectors surprised many by picking him for his World Championships debut last month - and here is why they did just that!
Its then almost another 40 seconds until Luis Leon Sanchez passes through
And he only has 20 seconds on the pack, that is led by Sella - whose Giro rival Cunego is looking more comfortable on the descent. Behind Sella it is Weening, Grivko, Fothen and Devolder in the relay train
Descent over, not too long to go for Schleck
Caruso is doing well to just keep the Luxembourger in sight
And a determined Luis Leon Sanchez is keen to take a podium finish here
Pearl Adidas have really taken over the peloton with Fothen, Weening and Rujano - no Festina in sight means that Pearl are looking good to secure 3rd in the team standings - but finally another attack! Edvald Boasson Hagen sensing that at least 4th is within grasp
Now let's all bask in the glory of Frank Schleck! He caps off what turned out to be quite a successful season for him - particularly if you ignore all races prior to Liege!
A brilliant 2nd place aswell for Damiano Caruso. Wiggle are already ready to take on the ProTour - just think how theyll be having strengthened in the transfer season!
3rd place for Luis Leon Sanchez. Time will tell who of the current Energie-Diesel crop will stick with the team, but if this guy does, they are sure to be one of the favourites to bounce back into the ProTour next season.
Hagen's late attack secures himself 4th
Pearl Adidas' swarm the front tactic works, as Fothen takes 5th, with Weening 9th and Rujano 10th. Devolder does well for 6th, while Cunego outsprints Valverde for 7th.
That does mean Damiano Cunego is crowned the Individual Ranking winner once again, 2 years in a row. Trofimov only managed 12th - behind Sella, just ahead of Andy Schleck and Bakelandts. And Simon Spilak fared worst of this years GT winners taking 16th - 6 places better though than last year's winner Samuel Sanchez
Having set up Frank Schleck, Maxim Iglinski rides in mid bunch, not interested in a placing. Ulissi will finish nearly 17 minutes later, just behind Oscar Freire - the Spaniard perhaps having ridden his last ProTour race? We shall see where he ends up next season.
And so the season ends, not with a large amount of small attacks, but the one large attack that nobody could match.
