← All eventsGran Fondo Il Lombardia
The 'Falling Leaves' monument as a gran fondo: a ~110km climbing-dense autumn day from Bergamo, built around the Valico di Valcava (~11.6km @ ~8%). Date approximate. Current Bergamo route replaces the historic Como/Ghisallo course.
Il Lombardia is a cycling monument, the Race of the Falling Leaves. This gran fondo lets you ride its autumn character: a climbing-dense ~110km loop from Bergamo, on the same October weekend the pros race.
The day is built around the Valico di Valcava, ~11.6km at ~8% with ramps to 17%. Add the long haul up Selvino, a string of linking hills, ~3,000m of climbing, and almost no flat to hide on.
These are open, marshalled roads, not closed ones. October brings cool, often damp descents on leaf-strewn corners. Tough but iconic: a day that rewards power-to-weight and pacing over punch.
Is Gran Fondo Il Lombardia for you?
- Steady climbers with good power-to-weight. The Valcava is one sustained 40 to 70 minute effort, so it rewards riders who hold a tempo rather than attack.
- Disciplined pacers. With no flat to recover on, going hard on the early hills gets punished later, so rationing the effort is the whole game.
- Confident descenders. October roads are damp and leaf-strewn, and time saved on the technical descents carries straight into the next climb.
- Riders drawn to the monument itself. Sharing the Falling Leaves weekend on the pro roads is as much the point as the finish time.
Training plan for Gran Fondo Il Lombardia
A training plan for Gran Fondo Il Lombardia isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- The Valcava: ~11.6km at ~8%, ramping to 17%, a single sustained effort of 40 to 70 minutes where the day is decided.
- Almost no flat. Climb after climb with technical descents between, so fatigue stacks all day.
- Damp, leaf-strewn October descents that punish nervous handling and reward carried momentum.
- Cool air off the high points, needing warmers and a gilet even on a mild day.
- One long sustained climb, 40 to 60 minutes at 88 to 95% FTP on a real gradient, a direct Valcava simulation.
- Threshold blocks: 3x15 at 95 to 100% FTP and 2x20 sweet spot for sustainable climbing power.
- Long hilly rides building to 5 to 5.5 hours with 1,500 to 2,000m of climbing at tempo.
- Deliberate descent practice on damp technical roads, plus back-to-back hilly weekends for durability.
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
