The GP dell'Insubria-Lugano is back for a second time and we take a closer look at the 182km route.
Preview of this one-day UCI Europe Tour event
After an impressive debut last season the GP dell'Insubria-Lugano makes its return on February 27 and Team Sky will be there to challenge as the race winds its way between the Italian and Swiss Lakes.
Our six-man squad features John-Lee Augustyn, Sylvain Calzati, Dario Cioni, Chris Froome, Peter Kennaugh and Morris Possoni and those riders will stay together for the GP di Lugano, which takes place on the following day.
Here we will take a look at the route the riders will follow over this initial 182km trek:
The Italian town of Campione d'Italia on Lake Lugano is the stunning setting for the grand depart and the riders head south from there, hugging the shoreline and briefly entering Switzerland before making it back onto Italian soil at Porto Ceresio (17.5km). Once there, they make the short traverse over to the banks of Lake of Varese (40km) and follow the northern shore west towards the first sprint section of the day at Gavirate (50.5km). With that out of the way the peloton heads further south to meet Lake Maggiore at Ispra (60.5km) and follows its southern tip all the way around to Arona (82km).
The road then turns north and begins to ramp up gradually before reaching a peak of 603m between Levo and Baveno (105km). After a sharp descent into Verbania (116km) there is one final sprint to contest before a long, flat run all the way to the race's destination at Pieve Vergonte. The action doesn't end immediately though as the peloton must first tackle three laps of the town on a course which includes two nasty 420m climbs right before the finish line.
