Almost the last chance of the season to land a big win, only now its also the first chance for many to win Lombardia given five-time winner Tadej Pogaar is out.The CourseBergamo to Como, the long way with 239km, not the hardest route going but still 4,600m of vertical gain. If the start and finish have alternated over the years, the route in between has been more varied. Plus Como will host the finish for the next few years too. This time no Muro di Sormano, instead this vintage resembles the 2022 edition. Its uphill from the start with the climb to Gavarno via the Colle dei Pasta, a gentle ascent and descent. The Selvino is next, a well-engineered climb with hairpins galore midway. There are no traps on the climbs of the Berbenno, Valpiana and Giovenzana, often big ring climbs.With 70km to go the climb of the Madonna del Ghisallo begins. Its in two parts and the hardest part is the start out of Bellagio with some 10-15% sections. It levels out through Guello before a more tame rise over the top to pass the chapel where the bells will ring for the race and then then a twisty descent down to Asso after which the road heads for Como.There are three final climbs. The road to San Fermo della Battaglia is climbed, then theres the ascent to Civiglio, then San Fermo again. Of the two climbs, Civiglio is harder but it opens with a long straight ramp up before the ten hairpins starts. San Fermos not easy, a tight turn to start with puts anyone ten wheels back in trouble to start with before the narrow road twists up through the woodland.The FinishAnother time up to San Fermo, a series of 7% ramps winding up to the 5km to go point and then followed by a regular descent with tight bends which flattens out with just over 1km to go.The ContendersAbsent Tadej Pogaar its a far more open contest, would it have been worth doing a preview if he was going to start? Isaac del Toro (UAE) makes for an obvious stand-in, the Mexican is in form even if he has talked about a knee injury this did not stop him going on the attack in Thursdays Gran Piemonte. Brandon McNulty is a form pick but while he could drift away to open up a gap in the worlds, now his rainbow jersey means hell more marked. Jan Christen fits the archetype but his form isnt as obvious.Second in Emilia last weekend and the Tre Valle Varesine in the week, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) looks like a good podium pick and he can sprint well from a group to take the win. At 27 hes the teams totemic rider but will see competition on the roster next year with new signings and now would be a good time to land his first Monument.Giulio Ciccone is likely to be a Pidcock team mate but has a shot now for Lidl-Trek. Smarting from his loss in the Euro road championships, he has a fast sprint and will like the hilly finish but can he put it all together? This would be his biggest win by far. Quinn Simmons thrived in last years edition, one of the few to try and resist Pogaar and looks to be in form. Juan Ayuso races, under the radar.A year ago Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM) was a very promising seventh. Now he faces the direct question of how to win? Render the race as hard as possible and then wear down rivals on the final climbs. His team will do their part to sap the field.Without Pogaar Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is a deductive pick, the best of the rest on paper and hes in form. But as we saw the worlds, he is beefier now than July and was beginning to struggle on the climbs; a challenge here with a course backloaded with harder climbs. But hes far from ruled out, theres no Sormano to shred the field. Its just he might have to race tactically, getting ahead of rivals before they trade attacks on the Civiglio; or hoping things regroup. Giulio Pellizzari brings more options but looks to be coming off the boil, theres a a strong team with Jai Hindley and Primo Rogli.Visma-LAB have Matteo Jorgenson and Davide Piganzoli as leaders and Louis Barr and Ben Tulett as outsiders. Jorgensons difficulty is winning from a sprint but this course is selective enough to rarely see a group contest the win. Piganzoli could well be the most improved rider of the year but even so, landing a Monument would be massive.Enric Mas (Movistar) was second here in 2022 with the very similar route. As good as his forms been, he can almost be excused for celebrating his Vuelta triumph. Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana) is consistently good but can he win at this level? EF Education-Easyposts Ben Healy is a long shot pick but does deliver from time to time. Bahrain have a cohesive team with Pello Bilbao as their leader in his last race, Lenny Martinez has punch, Jakob Omrzel just one to watch and Antionio Tiberi in form but probably deployed to help. Lotto-Intermarch have Lennert Van Eetvelt who is suited to the course and Jarno Widar whos just won the Tre Valli Varesine. A late season race in Italy means Marc Hirschi cant be ruled out but this is probably too hilly for him. Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos) is an outside pick. Now that Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) has found winning ways he ought to land more but this is a tall order.Del Toro, PidcockEvenepoelSeixas, McNulty, Jorgenson, Ciccone, ScaroniOnley, Widar, Healy, Piganzoli, Simmons, Pellizzari, BilbaoWeather: weak sunshine and 20C, a pleasant autumnal day and almost no wind to mention.TV: live from start to finish. KM0 is at 11.00am and the finish is forecast fro 5.00pm CEST. The Ghisallo climb will start around 3.00pm and the finishing climbs around 4.15pm.Its on RAI Sport then RAI 2 for locals and VPN users, otherwise Eurosport in Europe, Flobikes in north America and SBS in Australia which is also in English for any VPN users too.The post Il Lombardia Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.