Tadej Pogacar wins Il Lombardia 2024

Now, Tadej Pogacar ends his season and does so, although it may seem somewhat minor due to the superiority shown, with a Monument, his fourth victory in Il Lombardia in four participations, a race that he has made his own as Fausto Coppi did in his time. Tadej Pogacar's victory once again with a distant and unstoppable attack, with the extra of achieving it dressed in the rainbow jersey.

Tadej Pogacar continues to excel in Il Lombardia

To no one's surprise, Tadej Pogacar triumphed again, as he almost always does when he wears a race number, even when facing a major challenge like winning one of the five monuments. Il Lombardia marks the end of the season's great races, certifying the perfect season of Tadej Pogacar, who in the coming years will find it practically impossible to repeat what he achieved in 2024.

Il Lombardia was marked by a high-level breakaway that took a while to form due to a start sprinkled with climbs. Finally, a group of 21 cyclists would form the group of adventurers, with names like Meurisse, Arensman, Brandon Rivera, Muhlberger, Einer Rubio, Daniel Felipe Martínez, Eddie Dunbar, Benoot, and Wilko Keldermar being the most notable.

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At times, the breakaway, at least for the spectator, raised doubts as their lead grew to over four and a half minutes, which, with the quality names riding ahead, was going to be difficult to bring down for a UAE Team Emirates that surely would not receive any collaboration from the rest of the teams, overwhelmed by the superiority of their leader.

However, as they reached the ascent to the Madonna del Ghisallo, the landscape changed and UAE Team Emirates began to increase their efforts, causing the gap to start decreasing rapidly, although no significant moves were seen on this mythical climb, home of the patron saint of cyclists.

In any case, the tactic seemed clear and UAE Team Emirates did not hide it, starting to close in on the breakaway, knowing that Tadej Pogacar's attack would come on one of the 13 kilometers of the ascent to the Colma di Sormano.

It was with 7.5 kilometers to go to the summit, with 48.4 remaining to the finish line, when, after an excellent job first by Adam Yates and then by Pavel Sivakov, Tadej Pocagar launched his attack for his fourth victory in Il Lombardia without anyone daring to even try to respond. Accelerating behind, more due to quality and momentum than intention to catch up, were Enric Mas and Remco Evenepoel, who went ahead to secure the first mortal position. A few kilometers later, a resplendent Lennert Van Eetvelt joined them.

The pursuers reached the summit with just over a minute lost to Tadej Pogacar, and at the beginning of the descent, Remco Evenepoel unexpectedly accelerated. Enric watched Van Eetvelt, leaving him with all the responsibility, and with no reaction, Remco managed to open a significant gap that they could not close, ultimately securing a commendable second place in this Il Lombardia 2024, a season that must also be rated as outstanding for Remco Evenepoel despite Pogacar's incredible achievements, with 25 victories, 2 Grand Tours, 2 monuments, and the World Championship overshadowing any other accomplishment.

The final part of the race had little story, beyond how much time Tadej Pogacar would be able to put between himself and Remco Evenepoel at the finish line, ultimately more than three minutes, the second largest gap in the race, only surpassed by the 1971 edition led by Eddy Merckx.

Of course, there was also the battle for third place, where Van Eetvelt and Enric Mas were overtaken, and Pavel Sivakov eventually caught up with them. The Frenchman tried at the start of the climb to San Fermo della Battaglia but without success, and due to the vigilance among the three, Giulio Ciccone also managed to catch up and launched a strong attack, taking advantage of the element of surprise, which was enough to secure a commendable third place.

Il Lombardia 2024 Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 6h04'58''
2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) +3'16''
3. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +4'31''
4. Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) +4'34''
5. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) +4'34''
6. Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) +4'34''
7. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) +4'34''
8. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) +4'58''
9. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +4'58''
10. Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +4'58''