photo credits @ Il Lombardia
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) soloed to victory to claim his fifth consecutive win in Il Lombardia today.
No one could respond after the World Champion executed his winning move on the steeper slopes of the Passo di Ganda, distancing any would-be rival for the remaining 36 kilometers, later crossing the line to the delight of roaring crowds with a gap of almost two minutes ahead Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), who finished second place for the third time in a row after the World Championships in Rwanda and the European Championships in France.
Meanwhile, Michael Store (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) claimed the final spot on the podium, after the Australian rider was dropped by Evenepoel during the last 10 kilometers.
Race Highlights
After being paced in a chase group by his teammates, including Jay Vine and Isaac del Toro, Pogačar made his move around 3 kilometers into the 9.2 kilometer climb of the Passo di Ganda, catching breakaway leader Quinn Simmons with around 34 kilometers left to the finish in Bergamo.
From there. Pogačar briefly shadowed Simmons before distancing the US Pro Champion, a move that would see the Slovenian rider easily sail to victory.
Back in the chase, Storer and Evenepoel eventually caught Simmons with around 27 kilometers to go, while Evenepoel proved to be the stronger of the duo, later opening up a gap that the Aussie couldn’t claw back.
In the meantime, Storer managed to hold onto his advantage over Simmons and Del Toro to finish third.
Today’s victory put Pogačar on a par with cycling great, Eddy Merckx, who is the only other rider to win three Monuments in the same year, last doing so in 1975.
Merckx also won the Tour de France and world champion’s rainbow jersey in addition to three Monuments in 1971.
However, Pogačar went further by adding the European road race title to that list of wins, although that race did not exist until 1995, after Merckx’s career.
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