Watch Il Lombardia on Saturday, October 12, 2024, to see Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and more of the world's best cyclists racing through the Italian hills in one of the biggest events on the UCI calendar.
Read on and we'll show you how to watch Il Lombardia 2024 live streams from anywhere with a VPN, and potentially for free.
The 2024 Il Lombardia takes place on Saturday, October 12. The race starts at 4:40 a.m. ET / 9:40 a.m. BST and is set to finish between 10:35 a.m. ET / 3:35 p.m. BST and 11:25 a.m. ET / 4:25 p.m. BST.
• FREE STREAM — Watch on RAI Play (Italy), VRT Max (Belgium)
• U.S. — Watch on Flobikes or Max
• U.K. — Watch on Discovery+
• Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN risk-free
The cycling season is in its final throes, but Il Lombardia represents one big final flourish, a historic hilly race that comes as the last of the five Monument Classics - cycling's oldest and most prestigious one-day events. Taking place amid the hills and lakes of northern Italy, it is dubbed 'the race of the falling leaves' due to its autumn slot in the calendar.
To go with the stunning scenery and the selective difficulty of the 252km route is a start list packed with the world's top climbers. Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has won this race three years in a row and is favoured to take a fourth title that would put the cherry on top of an astonishing season that has seen him win the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and World Championship. As at the Worlds, he'll face competition from Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and the Olympic champion is one of the top hilly Classics riders.
The route packs 4,750 metres of elevation gain, leaving the strongest to battle it out for victory over the final climbs, including the mighty Colma di Sormano. Read on for how to watch Il Lombardia 2024 live streams from wherever you are, including how to watch Il Lombardia 2024 for free.
FREE Il Lombardia 2024 live streams
The 2024 Il Lombardia will be broadcast for FREE in Italy and Belgium.
In Italy the host broadcaster is the free-to-air RAI, which will be showing most of the race on television, and the full thing online via the FREE streaming service RAI Play.
In Belgium, Il Lombardia returns to public television through Sporza, having spent the last several years in the hands of commercial broadcaster VTM. Sporza is a brand that operates as part of the VRT network, with Il Lombardia available on VRT1 or online via the FREE streaming service VRT Max.
If you’d usually watch in one of these countries but are away, you may not be able to due to geographical restrictions. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution. Use a VPN to watch Il Lombardia for free - we’ll show you how to do that below.
Il Lombardia 2024 live streams around the world
It's only natural that you might want to watch an Il Lombardia live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the race is on?
Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.
They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is NordVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're visiting the U.S., and want to view your usual Italian service, you'd select Italy from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to RAI Play or another streaming service and watch the action.
How to watch a Il Lombardia live stream in the U.S.
Cycling fans in the U.S. have two choices for watching Il Lombardia: FloBikes or Max.
Flobikes is the cycling arm of streaming platform FloSports. A subscription will set you back US$149.99 for the year or US$29.99 on a monthly basis.
Max – formerly known as HBO Max – is a streaming platform under the Warner Bros. Discovery stable that also operates the Eurosport brand in Europe. New for U.S fans in 2024 is a range of rights to cycling events, including Il Lombardia, which are available via the B/R Sports add-on to a standard Max subscription.
The B/R Sports add-on costs US$9.99 per month, on top of a Max subscription that comes in three options: With Ads - $9.99/month or $99.99/year; Ad-Free - $16.99/month or $169.99/year; Ultimate Ad-Free - $20.99/month or $209.99/year.
If you're currently out of the U.S. but still want to watch the race, then don't forget to explore NordVPN set out above.
Watch Il Lombardia live streams in Canada
Cycling fans in Canada can watch Il Lombardia on FloBikes. A subscription will set you back CAN$150 for the year or CAN$29.99 on a monthly basis.
Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Canada.
Where to watch Il Lombardia live in the U.K.
UK viewers will be able to watch Il Lombardia on the Eurosport TV channel and the streaming service of its parent company, Discovery.
While Eurosport will be showing the latter part of the race on television, it will be shown in full, from first to last pedal stroke, over a seven-hour stream on Discovery+
A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+ which includes Eurosport's cycling coverage will set you back £6.99 per month. The package includes year-round cycling streams as well as other live sports including snooker, tennis, motorsports and more.
A premium subscription, which includes all that plus TNT Sports (Premier League, Champions League and Europa League football plus rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP) costs an additional £30.99 per month.
If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch from abroad.
Watch Il Lombardia 2024 in Europe
Aside from France, Belgium, and Spain, where public broadcasters are showing the race for free, European viewers wanting to watch Il Lombardia can do so through Eurosport, Discovery+, and Max - all part of the Warner Bros. Discovery stable.
Eurosport is available as part of a variety of satellite TV packages but is also available to stream online, though the exact platform will depend which country you are in.
As with the UK, Discovery+ is the service for viewers in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+, which includes Eurosport's cycling coverage, will set you back €6.99 per month.
Meanwhile, Max is the service for viewers in France and Spain, as well as Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Hungary, Madeira, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
To watch cycling on Max, the 'Sport' package costs €5 per month on top of a Max subscription that starts from €5.99 per month for the 'Basic' option.
Il Lombardia 2024 route map and profile
Uncommonly, Il Lombardia varies its route, switching the start and finish locations of Bergamo and Como. This year it's Bergamo to Como, meaning the key climbs in the finale are the Madonna de Ghisallo and its famous chapel at the summit, the Colma di Sormano and its vicious 'wall' slope near the top, and finally the San Fermo della Battaglia ahead of the drop to the finish in Como. However, landslides have forced the omission of the iconic Civiglio climb, making the route slightly easier than usual, while there was also a last-minute change overnight with the swapping of the Ganda climb for the Selvino early in the race, plus a move of the finish line away from the shores of Lake Como and slightly inland.
Il Lombardia schedule
Timings local - CEST
Where is the 2024 Il Lombardia held?
Il Lombardia takes place in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, where lakes and hills dominate the landscape. The route always starts or finishes in Bergamo or Como, but the direction is regularly flipped to keep things fresh. This year, it's the Bergamo to Como route, which is usually harder, but this time the key climb of the Civiglio has been cut due to landslides. Still, the Madonna di Ghisallo, Colma di Sormano and San Fermo della Battaglia will serve up a thrilling finale ahead of the drop to the finish on the shores of Lake Como.
