The 2023 road season is winding down with the last handful of WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour events fast approaching as October arrives. While the peloton hits China, the Tour of Turkey, and 1.1 races in Belgium to round out another year, a packed late-season schedule of Italian one-day Classics is also on the menu.
Over the next two weeks or so, seven races across many of Italy’s northern regions – Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piemonte, and Veneto – come one after another, culminating in the final Monument of the season, Il Lombardia.
These Autumn Classics will play host to some of the biggest names in the peloton as riders come together to battle it out for a big win before winding down for their winter breaks.
Watch out for names including Tadej Pogačar, Simon Yates, Primož Roglič, Thibaut Pinot, Remco Evenepoel and top women’s riders including home favourites Elisa Longo Borghini and Marta Cavalli at races such as the Giro dell’Emilia, Gran Piemonte, and Giro del Veneto.
Read on for Cyclingnews‘ guide to this late-season batch of Italian races, running from Thursday, September 28 to Sunday, October 15.
Location: Lissone – Lissone
Length: 195.7km
Ascent: 3,231m
Level: 1.1
The Italian Autumn Classics kick off with the 76th Coppa Agostoni which features a hilly mid-race circuit that proves decisive in selecting the winner, or the reduced group which battles it out at the flat finish.
Four circuits of the lap featuring the climbs of Sirtori (1.6km at 5.3%), the Colle Brianza (3.1km at 6.7%) and Lissolo (2.5km at 7.2%) mark the toughest part of the 195.7km race.
Winners in recent years include Sjoerd Bax, Alexey Lutsenko, and Gianni Moscon, with Bax taking the win from a group of eight last time out.
Being a 1.1 race, the Coppa Agostoni isn’t a star-heavy lineup, but you can look out for Marc Hirschi, Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), Ben O’Connor, Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën), Iván García Cortina, Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa), and Victor Lafay (Cofidis) this Wednesday.
Location: Carpi – San Luca, Bologna
Length: 204.1km / 103.5km
Ascent: 3,027m / 619m
Level: 1.Pro
More hills follow on Saturday with the older and more prestigious…
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