The Classic of the Dead Leaves arrives: Pogacar is ready for Il Lombardia 2024

Il Lombardia, the last monument of the year, the classic that unofficially closes the season, will take place next Saturday, October 12th and the question is not whether Tadej Pogacar will win his fourth consecutive edition but how he will do it, how much time he will take from the second, what point he will choose for his new feat.

Tadej Pogacar seeks to continue enlarging his legend in Il Lombardia

With autumn fully established in Europe, the 2024 season is coming to an end. But before drawing the curtain, Il Lombardia is the great classic left to be disputed and the last opportunity we will have this season to enjoy a cyclist who is making history like Tadej Pogacar, who starts in this edition with the objective not only of finishing a perfect season but also of getting closer to the great legends of cycling. In this case, to the great Fausto Coppi, the Campionissimo, who achieved 4 of his 5 victories in Il Lombardia consecutively.

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A race marked by the bad weather prevailing this week in Italy, which led to the suspension on Tuesday of the men's race of Tres Valles Varesinos due to the dangerous conditions of the circuit combined with the heavy rain. Bad weather is expected to continue for the rest of the week, undoubtedly making a demanding race like Il Lombardia even tougher.

Favorites to win Il Lombardia 2024

As we say, Tadej Pogacar seems to have no rival in this end of the season. A few days ago, he showed that there was no post-world championship hangover with a resounding victory in Giro dell'Emilia. While the race lasted in Tres Valles Varesinos, he managed to reach a breakaway alone where high-level cyclists like Enric Mas had joined and threatened with another feat until they all decided that it was not safe to continue competing in those conditions. Right now, it seems that, barring any mishap, no one can overshadow Tadej Pogacar, which also affects the morale of his rivals, simplifying the chances of victory even more.

We will have to see if Tadej Pogacar does not have the enemy at home since, in the UAE Team Emirates lineup for Il Lombardia, we find Juan Ayuso who will surely try to redeem himself after a rather gray season marked by controversies in the Tour de France and his exclusion from the team that competed in La Vuelta.

However, the most serious rival for the Slovenian, at least on paper, seems to be Remco Evenepoel, despite Il Lombardia being a race that seems to have crossed him, with a 9th place as his best classification and the terrible crash he suffered in the 2020 edition always in memory. As always, it will depend on whether the Belgian has an inspired day or not, as at the moment, he seems to be the only one capable of facing Pogacar.

From what we have seen these days, Enric Mas arrives at Il Lombardia in a good moment and, unlike Remco, it is a race that suits the Mallorcan well, who already fought head to head with Tadej in the 2022 edition.

One step below, names like Matteo Jorgenson, Primoz Roglic, or Aleksandr Vlasov should not be ruled out, even though their form seems to be declining towards the end of the 2024 season. But we know that classics are often unpredictable, and surprises happen where least expected.

Il Lombardia 2024 Route

In the alternating route of Il Lombardia, where the towns of Como and Bergamo take turns hosting the start and finish, this year the city that gives its name to one of the most spectacular and beautiful lakes in Italy will host the finish. Undoubtedly, the most traditional version of the classic of the falling leaves and the one that offers a more spectacular finish, although this year it may be somewhat subdued with only the climb to San Fermo della Battaglia in the last kilometers. Perhaps this will be the incentive for attacks to be launched from further away.

It will be 252 kilometers of tough terrain with small climbs scattered throughout, which, as always, will reach their peak when, in the last third of the race, the slopes of the Madonna del Ghisallo are faced, where the sanctuary that houses the patron saint of cyclists and a fabulous museum about this sport are located. Undoubtedly, one of those iconic places that every good fan must pilgrimage to at least once in their life. However, in this edition, the ascent will be from a side that we do not remember having seen before in the race, from the town of Onno and then descending by the road traditionally used.

After that climb, there will still be the Colma di Sormano, be careful, not to be confused with the homonymous wall. In this edition of Il Lombardia, the organization has decided to do away with the inhuman wall, opting for the road that had traditionally been used for the descent, presumably due to its danger. Let's not forget that it was where Remco Evenepoel suffered his serious accident in 2020.

An atypical finish in its route that, on paper, seems to distribute the difficulty differently, which, as we mentioned before, could lead to seeing attacks from further away, especially considering Tadej Pogacar's superiority, whom his rivals should try to surprise with riskier tactics.

How to watch Il Lombardia 2024

Eurosport will be the only option to enjoy the broadcast of Il Lombardia 2024. As is increasingly common and being a monument, "the home of cycling" will offer the full broadcast of the race, both on its Eurosport 2 channel, available on most television platforms, and on the Max platform where the channel has been integrated since last summer.

The television coverage will start at 10:55 in the morning, just before the start, and will end around 5 pm when the arrival is scheduled.