The Race of the Fallen Leaves - or, if you prefer, the World Championships’ Revenge - returns on Sunday. The monument officially known as Il Lombardia, now in its 109th edition,  organised by RCS Sport/La Gazzetta dello Sport, starts in Bergamo and finishes, after 245 gruelling kilometres, in Como.

25 teams will take the start, counting among their riders some of the top riders in the professional peloton, including the reigning champion Daniel Martin (Team Cannondale - Garmin), Italian national champion  Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team), former World Champions Michał  Kwiatkowski (Etixx - Quick Step), Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Lampre - Merida) and Philippe Gilbert (BMC Racing Team), the 2006, 2008, 2014 and 2015 UCI World Ranking number one Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), Australia's Simon Gerrans (Orica Greenedge), the Dutch riders Tom Dumoulin (Team Giant - Alpecin) and Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing), and past Il Lombardia winners Oliver Zaugg (Tinkoff - Saxo), Damiano Cunego (Nippo - Vini Fantini), and Joaquín Rodríguez (Team Katusha).

The beautiful, challenging new route culminates with an unprecedented final section that places a series of steep climbs - starting with the classic Madonna del Ghisallo, 64km from the finish line - between the riders and final victory.

You can read our preview here.