Most climbers brought their season to an end at last week's Il Lombardia but for the select few that are still fresh and motivated, there's still an important one-day race up for grabs. Formerly an important warm-up race to the Giro di Lombardia, Giro dell'Emilia is now one of two races that brings the Italian season to a close and while it may have lost  a bit of prestige due to a recent restructure of the calendar, its finish on the legendary San Luca climb in Bologna is still one that every climber would love to conquer.

While the sprinters prepare their final big outing in Sunday's Paris-Tours, a select group of climbers have kept going since last week's Il Lombardia with a clear focus on the final hilly race on European soil, Giro dell'Emilia. The autumn classic is one of the oldest races on the Italian calendar and its spectacular finish on the steep San Luca climb in Bologna makes it one of the most coveted in the cycling-mad country.

First held in 1909, the race has been held almost annually for more than a century with only 9 editions having been cancelled for different reasons. The race has always had Bologna as its centre and with very few exceptions, it has always been organized as an important autumn classic.

While the race was mostly an Italian affair in its early years, it has developed into an important and coveted event on the international calendar. The first non-Italian winner was none other than Eddy Merckx who triumphed in the 1972 edition of the race and since then, the regular Italian winners have interspersed with high-profile foreign victors like Roger De Vlaeminck, Tony Rominger, Michael Boogerd, Jan Ullrich, Frank Schleck, Robert Gesink, Carlos Betancur and Nairo Quintana. Actually, the race hasn't been won by an Italian since 2008 when Danilo Di Luca triumphed and there has been a maximum of one Italian on the podium in the last four editions of the race.

The main feature of the race is the legendary San Luca climb that brings the riders up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna Di San Luca. The 2,1km ascent has an average gradient of 9,7% and a maximum of 16% and is a brutal beast suited to the pure climbers. With several passages of the climb and the finish line located at the top, it is no wonder that the race has been dominated by riders that thrive on the steepest ascents.

Unfortunately, the race has lost a bit of prestige recently due to the restructure of the calendar that the UCI made for the 2012 season. Until then, the race was held on the Saturday after the world championships with the Paris-Tours and the other Italian race GP Beghelli taking place one day later and the season-ending monument Giro di Lombardia being scheduled for the following Saturday. While the sprinters brought their season to a close in France, the climbers travelled to Italy and used the Bologna race as an important test and warm-up event for the Lombardy classic.

For the 2012 season, the UCI decided to swap the two weekends around to create a better synergy between the world championships and the Giro di Lombardia which is now known as Il Lombardia. While the big classic has benefited from this change and been able to attract much stronger line-ups for the two most recent editions, the Giro dell'Emilia has been the big loser. No longer necessary to keep things going for Lombardy, many riders decide to skip the Bologna race at a point of the season where they are just longing for a holiday. Already last year, the race attracted a much less international field and things have only deteriorated for the 2013 edition. Only 5 ProTeams have decided to include the race on their schedule with Italian teams Lampre-Merida and Cannondale being joined by Astana, Team Saxo-Tinkoff and Ag2r La Mondiale, and the rest of the field is made up of pro continental teams from around the world and continental team Ceramica Flaminia.

Last year Nairo Quintana continued his gradual rise towards the top of the sport when he benefited from strong Vuelta condition to succeed compatriot Carlos Betancur as the winner on the brutal San Luca climb. Having made use of amazing work from teammate Giovanni Visconti, Quintana launched a furious acceleration the final time up the ascent and held on to take the win 3 seconds ahead of Fredrik Kessiakoff with Franco Pellizotti completing the podium 1 second further adrift. Movistar has decided to skip the race this year and so Quintana won't defend his title but Pellizotti and Kessiakoff will both be back as they try to improve on last year's showing.

The course

The course for Giro dell'Emilia has varied from year to year but has now found a rather fixed format. The first part of the race usually consists of a journey into the hilly southern hinterland of Bologna that is used to tire out the legs ahead of the finale. The decisive part of the race is, however, the four laps on a 9,3km finishing circuit and the 5 passages of San Luca that comes at the end of a hard day in the saddle.

Like last year, the race will be 200km long but the start has been moved from its usual location in Bologna to Modena. From there, the riders will head along flat roads towards Bologna but just before the city, they will turn right to hit the course for last year's race. They now head into the hills that are located just south of the race's home city.

First up is the Croce delle Pradole (11,5km, 5-7%) climb that takes the riders up to 698m of altitude. At the top, there is no descent. Instead, the riders continue along rolling roads before hitting the final short ascent Valico di Santa Lucia (3,4km, 10-12%) that brings them to the highest point of the race 810m above sea level. From there, they head onto a long, technical descent that brings them back onto flat roads as they now turn around to head north back towards Bologna.

Next up is the Badolo climb (6,0km, 5-6%) whose top is located 65,2km from the finish. The climb continues a bit after the official summit and then the riders speed down a technical descent. From there, they continue along slightly ascending roads to Bologna where they turn left to head through the city centre.

With 39,4km to go, they reach the bottom of the San Luca in the southwestern part of the city for the first time. Having climbed the brutal slopes for the first time, they reach the finish line for the to start the first of 4 laps on the 9,3km finishing circuit that consists of a descent that is not nearly as steep as the ascent and a short flat section leading onto the lower slopes of the climb. The race comes to a dramatic and spectacular conclusion when the riders make it to the top of the dreaded climb for the fifth and final time.

The first part of the race is usually the scene for an early break getting some time in the spotlight and mostly serves to accumulate fatigue in the riders' legs but the real race starts when the riders hit the finishing circuit. Every time up the climb, riders drop off and the peloton gradually gets smaller for every passage of the finish line. The race is usually really aggressive and it requires a fair share of work for the depleted squads to keep things under control. The race is usually decided by the strongest climbers on the final passage but the favourites occasionally make the first attacks on one of the earlier laps. In 2011, it was the early attack by Carlos Betancur that took the race favourites by surprise and the battle on the final climb between Bauke Mollema and Rigoberto Uran ended up being only for 2nd place. Regardless of the way things pan out, one things is guaranteed: only a splendid climber will be crowned winner of the 96th Giro dell'Emilia.

The weather

The two last big races on Italian soil have both been raved in rainy conditions and so the riders are surely happy to realize that they will face beautiful conditions for the final major Italian classic. While rain will be falling overnight, there will be bright sunshine by the time, the riders leave Modena for the start of the race. Those conditions will remain for the duration of the race with the temperature expected to reach a maximum of 19 degrees.

There will only be a light wind from a southwesterly direction and so the riders face a headwind in the early part of the race and a tailwind when they head towards the finish in Bologna. However, it should have no real impact on the racing as it will be the San Luca climb that will produce all the selection.

The favourites

All is set to be decided the final time up the San Luca climb and so the winner will be one that thrives on the steepest slopes. While the climb is not very long, the many passages and its steepness mean that it is more a race for climbers than for the more punchy guys. While a fast finish is no disadvantage - several Ardennes specialists have made it onto the podium in previous editions - what really counts are splendid climbing legs.

Due to the nature of the final climb, one rider stands out as the favourite. Domenico Pozzovivo has been on fire during most of the second half of the season and has finished in the top 10 in both the Tour de Pologne and the Vuelta a Espana. He has kept up his speed for the late Italian classics and proved so when he finished 4th on the steep Superga climb in Milan-Turin and finished with the group that sprinted for 6th in Il Lombardia after having been the main aggressor on the final climb in both races.

No one can deny that Pozzovivo is riding strongly at the moment and the Italian is perfectly suited to the San Luca climb. He thrives when the road gets really steep as he proved when he won on the brutal Punta Veleno in the 2012 Giro del Trentino. While he has a tendency to fade a bit towards the end of longer climbs, he has always performed well on the shorter ascents that dominate the Italian one-day classics. He may be no fast finisher but he actually has a solid punch and it is no wonder that he has performed well in the Italian classics for several years. This makes him perfectly suited to San Luca and it is a bit of a mystery that he hasn't finished on the podium in Giro dell'Emilia yet. Last year he got close but he faded towards the end of the final climb and had to settle for 4th. This year he may finally fill an obvious gap in his palmares and take the first big one-day win of his career.

Pozzovivo will go up against a very strong Lampre team that has two in-form captains in its ranks. Michele Scarponi was not at his best in the Vuelta but gradually built up form for the world championships where he would probably have made the final selection if he hadn't been the rider that prepared Nibali's final attack. He had high expectations for Il Lombardia but had to abandon due to stomach problems and so has red-circled Emilia as the place to take his first win since the 2011 Giro.

Due to his sickness, he decided to include yesterday's Coppa Sabatini in his schedule and he showed great form on the final lap when he took some amazing turns on the front to prepare the sprint win for teammate Ulissi. Tomorrow he will be free of his domestique duties and will be back in the captaincy role. In recent years, he has had a tendency to fade on longer climbs but has been progressively stronger in the classics, most recently in this year's Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Giro dell'Emilia and San Luca suit him perfectly and he may end his season - and possible his time as a Lampre rider - in the best possible way.

If Scarponi is not up for the challenge, the team will once again rely on Ulissi. The Italian came out of the Vuelta in really good condition and was part of the Italian team at the Worlds where he was unfortunate to crash twice. He has been on fire since the Florence race with wins in Milan-Turin and Coppa Sabatini. His only disappointment came in Il Lombardia where he finished down in 28th but that was no big surprise as he usually has difficulties on longer distances.

He won't be bothered by those problems in tomorrow's shorter race and he will be in with a chance in a finish that is not too different from the one in Torino. The repeated ascents of San Luca may favour Scarponi more than Ulissi but the punchy Italian has the characteristics to shine on a short climb like this one. Ulissi may make it three late-season wins tomorrow.

Jakob Fuglsang will be the strongest card on a small 5-rider Astana team. The Dane rode well on select stages for Vincenzo Nibali in the Vuelta and showed solid condition in the world championships. He hasn't pinned on a number since the race in Florence and made the surprise decision to skip Il Lombardia. The former mountain biker is perfectly suited to this kind of steep finishes and has performed well n San Luca in the past with a 2nd place in 2009 being his best result. His condition at this point of the season may be a bit uncertain as he hasn't raced for the past two weeks but if he has maintained the legs he showed in Florence, he will be a very strong winner candidate.

Androni Giocattoli has a very strong line-up for the race with several strong climbers that could animate the finale. The rider who is expected to deliver the goods, is former Italian champion Franco Pellizotti in what will be his final race before joining Astana for the 2014 season. He made it clear that he wants to finish his time with his current team in the best possible way and has done so with four consecutive top 10 finishes in Italian one-day races. He finished 5th in GP Costa degli Etruschi just before the world championships, 10th in Milan-Turin after opening the attacks on the final climb, 8th in Lombardia and 4th in the uphill sprint in yesterday's Coppa Sabatini.

Last year he finished 3rd in Emilia and he has all the characteristics to shine in this kind of finish. However, he hasn't been as strong as he was last year and despite his recent results, his climbing has not been on the level of Scarponi and Pozzovivo. Nonetheless, Pellizotti looms as a danger man if the main favourites are just a little bit shy of their best.

Another veteran hopes to end his season on a high note in Giro dell'Emilia. Despite being 42 years of age, Davide Rebellin is not showing any signs of slowing down and has been a perennial top 10 finisher in the hardest Italian one-day races all season with his third place in the Italian championships being his best performance. Giro dell'Emilia may be a bit too much of a climber's race to suit the punchy Italian perfectly but his 4th place finish in 2011, 2nd in 2008 and 2006 win prove that he cannot be ruled out on San Luca. He didn't show his best form in Milan-Turin but it would be a mistake to rule out the veteran who is one of the most consistent riders of the entire peloton.

In 2013, Matteo Rabottini has been unable to rediscover the form that allowed him to win a stage and the mountains jersey in last year's Giro but the Italian appears to have found his legs in the second half of the season. He rode well in the Settimana Lombarda and was really strong in Milan-Turin where he rode aggressively and still had enough left in the tank to finish 9th. He is unlikely to follow the strongest climbers on San Luca but he is a wily competitor who is not afraid of risking everything in one daring attack. If he gets away in the finale, he may repeat Betancur's performance from 2011 of staying away to the finish.

Neo-pro Francesco Manuel Bongiorno will be the leader of a strong Bardiani team and as a pure climber, he is perfectly suited to the steep San Luca. In his first season as a pro, he has been riding really well in the second half of the season and finished an outstanding 2nd in the Tre Valli Varesine which is one of the biggest Italian one-day races. He was one of the strongest climbers in the Tour of Britain but was taken out of contention due to stomach problems when he returned to Italy for the Milan-Turin. It may be a bit too early for him to win a race like Giro dell'Emilia but he could feature prominently in the finale.

In addition to Rabottini, Vini Fantini has another strong card to play. Mauro Finetto has been really strong in the second half of the season and has finished in the top 10 in most Italian one-day races. On paper, Giro dell'Emilia should be too hard for a classics rider like him but the same could be said of Milan-Turin where he finished 7th. Yesterday he was 5th in Coppa Sabatini which proves that he has kept his form until the very end. He may not beat the strongest climbers in a direct battle but could benefit from a wily move late in the race.

Until now, we have mostly pointed to Italian riders but there will be foreign competitors as well. Saxo-Tinkoff will back Chris Anker Sørensen who will get a rare chance to ride for himself. The Dane is not a very explosive rider and usually not one of the strongest climbers but he is almost impossible to shake off. Despite getting dropped several times in both the Worlds road race and Il Lombardia, he managed to get back time after time and finished both races well. It's impossible for him to beat the best climbers in this kind of finish but he is a master in picking the right breakaways and may try his hand from afar.

Finally, Sergio Pardilla deserves a mention. The MTN leader did not live up to expectations in the early part of the season but has bounced back with a win on a big mountain stage in the Volta a Portgual. He rode really well on the climbs in the Tour of Britain but failed to reproduce that strength in Milan-Turin. He missed his opportunity in Il Lombardia due to a crash but will be eager to make amends. If he can find back his legs from the British race, he will be a danger man.

***** Domenico Pozzovivo

**** Michele Scarponi, Diego Ulissi

*** Jakob Fuglsang, Franco Pellizotti, Davide Rebellin, Matteo Rabottini

** Francesco Manuel Bongiorno, Mauro Finetto, Chris Anker Sørensen, Sergio Pardilla

* Davide Villella, Darwin Atapuma, Kristijan Durasek, Gianfranco Zilioli, Sergey Firsanov