Tour of Lombardy shifts date in 2012

The trees of Lombardy form a beautiful backdrop for a beautiful race.

The trees of Lombardy form a beautiful backdrop for a beautiful race. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

The Tour of Lombardy (Il Lombardia) will move to September in 2012, the UCI announced today.

The last Monument of the season, Il Lombardia, also known as the so-called "race of the falling leaves" because of its autumn date, will now be held on September 29, one week after the UCI road world championships.

The new date is also one day prior to RCS Sport's presentation of the 2013 Giro d'Italia.

"The change, which allows athletes to directly benefit from their world championship form on the WorldTour circuit, comes further to discussions held during the recent meeting of the Professional Cycling Council which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, last month," the UCI stated in its press release.

The Giro di Lombardia has traditionally been the grand finale of the season, having the honour not only of being the last Classic, but as the final race in the UCI's major series - the World Cup, ProTour and now WorldTour.

With the shift in date, it will once again be adjacent to the world championships as it had been until the Worlds moved up in date, and therefore may attract a stronger field.

However, the race loses its status as final WorldTour race, which will now go to the Tour of Beijing.

2012 WorldTour calendar

Swipe to scroll horizontally
1January 17-22, 2012: Tour Down Under
2March 4-11, 2012: Paris-Nice
3March 7-13, 2012: Tirreno-Adriatico
4March 17, 2012: Milano-Sanremo
5March 19-25, 2012: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
6March 23, 2012: E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke
7March 25, 2012: Gent-Wevelgem
8April 1, 2012: Ronde van Vlaanderen
9April 2-7, 2012: Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco
10April 8, 2012: Paris-Roubaix
11April 15, 2012: Amstel Gold Race
12April 18, 2012: La Flèche Wallonne
13April 22, 2012: Liège-Bastogne-Liège
14April 24-29, 2012: Tour de Romandie
15May 5-27, 2012: Giro d'Italia
16June 3-10, 2012: Critérium du Dauphiné
17June 9-17, 2012: Tour de Suisse
18June 30-July 22, 2012: Tour de France
19July 10-17, 2012: Tour de Pologne
20August 6-12, 2012: Eneco Tour
21August 14, 2012: Clásica Ciclista San Sebastian
22August 18-September 9, 2012: Vuelta a España
23August 19, 2012: Vattenfall Cyclassics
24August 26, 2012: GP Ouest France-Plouay
25September 7, 2012: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
26September 9, 2012: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
27September 29, 2012: Il Lombardia
28October 10-14, 2012: Tour of Beijing

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