Icons of cycling: Madonna del Ghisallo, Il Lombardia’s signature climb

We look at the almost sacred allure of Il Lombardia’s signature climb

The chapel at the summit is a shrine to cycling greats. Photo: Graham Watson

The fifth and final Monument of the season started life as the Giro di Lombardia but is now simply Il Lombardia. Two words perhaps say it better than three — because this race is all about Lombardy.

The one-day Classic is set in the most beautiful part of this region in northern Italy, an area known as ‘the Italian Lake District’.

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