Who are the riders to watch at the 2026 Il Lombardia?

It's been a good season for the 23-year-old Frenchman, Mathys Rondel. The Tudor Pro Cycling rider has been on the cusp of a big victory throughout 2026, with several high placings, but it seems to be that he stutters at the final hurdle leading to victory.

Of course, it will be a huge task to take victory at Il Lombardia on Saturday, but after his strong showing at the European Championships in Slovenia last Sunday, expect to see Rondel full of vigour and attacking spirit.

Overall, the parcours of Il Lombardia suits Rondel even more than the Euros last week, with significantly longer climbs and steeper climbs dotted throughout the scenic route. 

We predict that Rondel will embed himself in the top ten in the results come Saturday evening.

Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) is another interesting rider to decipher for Il Lombardia, particularly after his climbing demonstration at the Giro dell'Emilia, finishing 4th with his teammate Davide Piganzoli taking home the win.

If we take the stage races out of the equation here, the Briton's one-day results have been real quality. With three podiums at La Flèche Wallonne, San Sebastian, and Eschborn-Frankfurt and we see Tulett competing for a podium on Saturday.

In 2025, Tulett took 14th in the race of the falling leaves, as part of a group that finished 5:21 down on a rampant Pogacar, who, of course, did not take the start to defend his crown due to injury.

The eyes will be on Remco Evenepoel, Paul Seixas and Isaac del Toro but Ben Tulett can swoop under the radar.

Simone Gualdi (Lotto-Intermarche) is a talented young cyclist coming from the province of Lombardy. He will be racing in Il Lombardia on Saturday.

His rider profile is suited to climbs, but he possesses a very capable sprint in reduced-group situations, which we have seen a handful of times throughout the 2026 season.

Lombardia is bound to be brutal but there's no reason why Gualdi cannot squeeze himself into the top ten fight, especially if he shows his climbing legs from the Giro dell'Emilia last weekend.

Finally. Is the word that describes Tobias Halland Johannessen's (Uno-X Mobility) first WorldTour win on stage 20 of the Vuelta after an inundated amount of near-misses.

That pressure of chasing a victory after a lengthy wait will only benefit Johannessen heading into Il Lombardia. 

It's a race he has yet to achieve a strong result in, but who's to say he cannot do that on Saturday after what we just mentioned?

With his rider profile, able to climb well and finish it off with a strong burst, Tobias could reach the top five placings, bettering his previous monument result of 9th, which came back at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in Spring.

Bauke Mollema bows out of professional cycling after the 2026 Il Lombardia, and what a career he has had and even more so, in this race with a record-breaking 18th start. 

Mollema has an impressive track record in the final monument of the season, winning it in 2019 after an 18-kilometre solo, a 4th the year after as well as several top 10's.

It's safe to say it's a race that suits him, and he will want to go out with a bang, taking a good result. Although there are question marks surrounding his recent results, which contained numerous DNF's, but you just never know what can happen in pro cycling.