Organizers of Il Lombardia (open in new tab) have announced changes to the course of Saturday's Monument. The course was shortened by 12 km, from 243 km to 231 km, making it the shortest since 1960.

Il Lombardia was originally scheduled for the first week of October, but was moved to August 15 this year as part of a mass schedule change due to the coronavirus outbreak. This date is Ferragosto, a national holiday in Italy.

RCS Sport cut the U-shaped detour that was supposed to head to the outskirts of Lecco after Colle Brianza and turned back toward Oggiono. The race instead takes a more direct route to Oggiono after Colle Brianza at the halfway point.

This change does not affect select features of the course, such as the iconic climb to Madonna del Ghisallo, the fearsome Muro di Solmano, and the climbs of Civiglio and San Fermo della Battaglia in the last 20 km. The race finishes on the Como waterfront, with a 5 km run from the final climb.

Lemko Evenepoel (open in new tab) (Detunink-Quick Step) will make his debut as the first rider on Il Lombardia after winning the overall at the Tour de Pollogne, his fourth win of the season.

Also making his first start line appearance will be Mathieu Van der Poel (open in new tab), whose Alpecin Phoenix team has been invited to the RCS Sport one-day race. Last year's winner Bauke Mollema and his Trek Segafredo teammate and two-time Il Lombardia winner Vincenzo Nibali (open in new tab) will also return.

The climb up to Madonna del Ghisallo marks the beginning of the final stages of Il Lombardia, an 8.3-km climb with double-digit gradients on the descent and climb.

Solmano begins with a gentle 6.6% gradient at 5.1 km. The 1.9 km long paved road averages 16% with a maximum of nearly 30%.

The disastrous descent on the other side is one of the trickiest in pro cycling, and in the 2017 edition several riders, including Jan Bakelants, Lawrence De Plus, Simone Petilli, and Daniel Martinez, were injured entering the canyon from off-road and causing crashes became.

Solmano splits the peloton, but it is generally the 4.2 km climb to Civiglio where the winning move is made, culminating in a 9.5% climb with 17 km to go.