Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, October 13, 2024

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

Men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true. - Julius Caesar

---

Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Vol 2: 1971 - 2011 is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• October 13: Chrono des Nations

Upcoming racing:

• October 15 - 20: Tour of Guangxi
• October 16: Giro del Veneto
• October 20: Japan Cup Road Race

Latest completed racing:

• October 12: Il Lombardia
• October 10: Gran Piemonte
• October 8: Tre Valli Varesine
• October 7: Coppa Bernocchi
• Sept 29 - Oct 6: Le Tour de Langkawi
• October 6: Paris-Tours
• October 6: Coppa Agostoni-Giro delle Brianze
• October 5: Giro dell'Emilia
• October 3: Sparkassen Münsterland Giro
• October 1: Binche-Chimay-Binche
• September 22 - 29: World Road Cycling Championships
• September 18 - 22: Tour de Luxembourg

---

Il Lombardia race reports

We posted the report from second-place Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step with the results.

Here's the race organizer's report:

If you’re into superheroes or the Marvel universe, you’ll know there’s one character—or rather, entity—that can do it all: Eternity. This being is basically the creator, capable of granting and stripping powers, shaping planets, channeling energy, and destroying galaxies without breaking a sweat. A little like Tadej Pogačar, who may not be creating planets, but is certainly untouchable, dictating the pace of the peloton and dishing out power (or taking it away) from his fellow riders.

Today, as he obliterated the competition to win Il Lombardia 2024, he’s punctuated a galactic season with a statement victory, already boasting the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, World Championship, and two Monument Classics. We really make an effort not to bring up Eddy Merckx every time – each era has its superstars and heroes after all – but to grasp the magnitude of what Pogačar is pulling off, such a comparison is, quite simply, necessary. Only Eddy did better, winning three Monuments along with the Giro, Tour, and Worlds in 1972.

No one else in sight as Pogacar wins Il Lombardia. Sirotti photo

We should consider ourselves lucky – what we are witnessing is the saga of a rider so extraordinary that it’s almost a shock how ordinary he seems off the bike. Today, he dropped the Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel, himself a rare talent, by a staggering 3 minutes and 16 seconds. Yet Evenepoel must be starting to curse his luck at being born in the same era as this Slovenian phenom. Just one deadly attack on the Colma di Sormano was all it took to put the finishing touch on the 118th edition of the Dead Leaves Classic.

From the moment he turned pro, Pogačar started winning, and by his second year, he already had a Tour de France in his palmarès. Many thought his peak had come early, but nothing could be further from the truth. Year after year, he has climbed to new heights, the likes of which modern cycling has never seen.

Pogačar himself claims that repeating a season like this will be close to impossible. Maybe so, but we can bet he’ll try – and we’ll be right here, ready to marvel at whatever comes next. For now, we’ll let him enjoy a well-deserved, peaceful vacation. Come 2025, there will be more records to rewrite.

Race winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates posted this:

The last 48.4 km of solo riding of the season gave Tadej Pogačar the fourth victory in a row at Il Lombardia, his final race of the World Tour 2024 calendar.

The World Champion attacked from the top riders lead group on the Colma di Sormano climb, after that his teammates had controlled the main breakaway of the day.

Pogačar immediately created a solid advantage, that was over the minute on Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) at the end of the Sormano downhill.

After having increased the gap with a classy solo ride, he reached the arrival in Como with 3’16” on Evenepoel, obtaining the 25th seasonal victory, including two Monuments (Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia), two Great Tours (Giro d’Italia and Tour de France) and the World Championships.

Tadej Pogacar on his way to a solo finish. RCS Sport photo

For the UAE Team Emirates, today’s success from Pogačar is number 81 in 2024.

Top performance also by Pavel Sivakov, who completed the race in 6th position after having battled also for a place on the podium.

Pogačar: “Every victory is special and today’s one is too, because the team worked so hard as we did for all the year for the successes we achieved.
It was a long race and all the work was on UAE Team Emirates: we did a super good job, that’s why I am so happy for this victory.

"We planned to attack as I did, because we knew the race would have been hard and the final 40 km would have been a man to a man battle, so I knew that if I would have a gap on the top of the Colma di Sormano, I could keep it to the finish. And this is what happened.

"After the downhill I pushed hard on the following up and down sector also in order to win the mental game on the chasers. Then, In the last ten kilometers, I enjoyed the crowd“.

Here's the Il Lombardia report from third-place Giulio Ciccone's Team Lidl-Trek:

In the last Monument of the season, Giulio Ciccone put a complicated season behind him with a super performance that saw him finish on the podium behind Pogacar and Evenepoel

Sometimes podiums are worth more than the numbers that took a rider there show. The third step of the podium is not the win, but when that result comes behind the World Champion and dominator of the season, Tadej Pogacar, and the double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, its value unquestionably increases.

Giulio Ciccone stood on the podium of Il Lombardia at the end of a gritty, intelligent race behind two phenomena and, that is why, the satisfaction doubles today.

Giulio Ciccone finishes third. Sirotti photo

In addition to this, there’s the fact that Giulio managed to get the best result of his season at the end of complicated, and sometimes difficult, months. A season that started badly, with a health problem, and in which the Italian rider was not able to shine as many times as he had hoped.

But, in his last act of the season (the team will still race in China and Japan), he proved he is back and now, he can look to the future with confidence and begin to work towards a great 2025.

Il Lombardia in Cicco’s words:
"It’s a podium that means a lot to me, it’s the best way to end a difficult year. I started riding in March, that cost me an important part of the season and I was forced to revise plans and goals. This is a result that gives me morale to prepare for the new season with confidence and high spirits.

"From the very first climbs I felt that my legs were those of the best days. It was a confidence boost. I told my teammates who gave me morale and a lot of support: thank you guys! We achieved the maximum we could, we have no regrets. We have to be realistic, I am racing at a time where there are absolute champions. Being on the podium with two of them, Pogi and Remco, brings a kind of satisfaction. It gives added value to my result.

"The race went as we expected. Tough from the beginning, the intentions of everyone were clear. The pace rose to a crescendo because the breakaway looked dangerous to many riders and teams left no breathing room during the chase. When we caught up with the breakaway, the pace did not slow down until it became unbearable for everyone, except Pogi. It was important for me to manage myself, to race smart. I felt I still had something left in my legs and kept it for the last climb.

"Lombardia is a tough race, when you finish it you are destroyed, but it is a fantastic classic that I love and, on paper, opens up so many different scenarios. Today, I’m on the podium for the first time. The dream, one day, is to stand on the top step."

Here's the Tour of Lombardy report from seventh-place Lennert Van Eetvelt's Team Lotto Dstny:

Lennert Van Eetvelt finished 7th in Il Lombardia after an impressive race. Van Eetvelt fought for the podium for a long time and only had to concede late in the final. "I was so happy to see the finish line," said a satisfied Van Eetvelt.
He hoped to end his season—which had its highs and lows—on a positive note, starting with Il Lombardia this morning in Bergamo. Six hours of racing later, he could say in Como that he had succeeded in that goal. After a tough race, he finished a strong seventh. "I would have liked to fight for the podium a bit longer, but I was really at my limit," Van Eetvelt said at the finish.

Lennert Van Eetvelt finishes seventh. Sirotti photo

As expected, top favorite Tadej Pogacar went solo halfway up the Colma di Sormano—the key point of the day—with almost 50 kilometers to go. Van Eetvelt joined the chase in the background. "That went better than I expected at first. I surprised myself by being able to follow the other chasers for so long, as I had already been fighting cramps for quite a while."

Van Eetvelt eventually had to let go of the podium hopes. "I was so relieved when I saw the finish line (laughs). I had hoped for more than seventh place beforehand. After a month without racing, I came to the start feeling really fresh. At one point, I was hoping to fight for third place, but then I felt my legs... and I had to be realistic. I was just happy I made it over that final climb."

"In the end, I look back with satisfaction at my first completed monument. That I could still finish seventh among the big names with not the best legs and cramps up to my ears is a boost. It’s been a strange year for me, with a lot of setbacks, but also some great results. I’m glad I can add something positive to my season in this way."

Ninth place David Gaudu's Team Groupama-FDJ posted this report:

For a large part of the peloton, the 2024 road cycling season ended this Saturday, on the shores of Lake Como. While the world champion Tadej Pogacar achieved another dominant win on Il Lombardia, Groupama-FDJ initially went on the attack by placing Rémy Rochas and Rudy Molard in the breakaway. The duo was eventually caught on the Colma di Sormano, where the Slovenian went on his own. A member of a chasing group in the last hour of racing, David Gaudu concluded his season with a brave sprint to 9th place.

Team Groupama-FDJ is presented before the start of the race. Sirotti photo

In its 118th edition, Il Lombardia headed to Como. One year after Thibaut Pinot’s unforgettable farewell in Bergamo, the last Monument of the year started at around 10:30 this Saturday for a long 255-kilometre journey including eight climbs. Before the Madonna del Ghisallo-Colma di Sormano sequence in the second half of the race, a tough start was in store for the riders, with a series of climbs starting at kilometre 20. From the first of these, the Groupama-FDJ team stood out with Rémy Rochas, while the fight for the breakaway was still on.

“We wanted to be represented in big moves to try to get a little head start”, explained Thierry Bricaud. “Our goal was to support David as much as possible, and that started by being one step ahead for riders like me,” confirmed Rémy. “We did that perfectly. I accelerated from the first climb to try to get away. We spent a lot of energy with Kelderman, fortunately some guys joined us, but it still took a while to get clear because UAE didn’t really want it to go.” Seven riders initially formed the breakaway, which grew to thirteen men, before another counterattack, which included Rudy Molard, established on the Selvino climb. “I hadn’t planned to break away, but when I saw some riders like Arensman and Benoot attacking, I decided to follow,” he said.

In the end, twenty-two riders, and some strong ones, made up the leading group after almost two hours of racing. “It was a really tough day up front, we never looked at each other too much and we tried to increase the gap as much as possible because we knew we needed a big lead before the final”, added Rudy. “The team was committed and aggressive, like Rudy and Rémy showed”, praised Thierry. “It was a good thing. We would have liked to have a little more of a gap, it didn’t go as we would have liked, but that’s part of the game”.

Although the peloton was about five minutes down with 100 kilometres to go, the pace really went up from Madonna del Ghisallo’s climb. The bunch got thinner, and the gap reduced to just two minutes at the summit, which Rudy Molard passed first. “A few years ago, I didn’t do the sprint and I later saw a rider from the breakaway on the podium with a beautiful trophy,” said the French puncher. “I had the opportunity to be first at the top, and for me, the Madonna del Ghisallo and the chapel are iconic. I like this connection with history. Also, it cost me nothing to do the sprint and get this beautiful trophy.” Certain to leave the race with a souvenir, Rudy Molard didn’t stop there anyway. He made a first attack in the run-in to the Colma di Sormano, then went for it again once the thirteen kilometres of climbing at 6.5% began.

He was quickly joined by Rémy Rochas, and the Groupama-FDJ duo set the pace during the first few kilometres of the climb while the peloton was getting close. With just under fifty kilometres to go, the last riders standing from the break were caught, Tadej Pogacar made an attack straight away and went solo. While Romain Grégoire was dropped a few moments earlier, David Gaudu entered a second chasing group.

“We were all pulling, everyone played its part because it was in everyone’s interest for the group to keep on going,” said David. After two groups got back together before Como, the Groupama-FDJ rider tackled the final climb, that of San Fermo della Battaglia, with about ten riders fighting for sixth place. A few kilometres further on, on the line, he ultimately fought for eighth and eventually got ninth after a reduced group sprint. “I was missing an hour of racing in my legs to fight at 100% in the final,” he said. “Just like in the world championship. I came away with ninth place, I think that’s not too bad if you look at who I’m finishing with. No one would decline a top-10 in a Monument, even if we always want more. I’m ending the season on a very good note. It would have been excellent if I had fought for the podium.”

“It’s a good top 10 that reflects his end of season,” added Thierry Bricaud. Winner of the Tour du Jura and on the Tour de Luxembourg, sixth in the Vuelta, David Gaudu took a quick look back after he took off his last 2024 bib. “I had four goals this season,” he concluded. “The first one was the Tour, which didn’t go well. The second one was to win again, which I did twice. The third one was to do a complete season from February to October, which I did (86 days of racing, editor’s note). The fourth one was to fight again for GC over one week and three weeks. I did it on the Vuelta, in Luxembourg, and also a little bit on the Tour Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné. Three of the four goals have been completed. It’s certainly not my best season, but I still made some nice results, and it is a big boost for next year. We can go on holiday with peace of mind.”

Fifteenth place Thymen Arensman's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this report:

Thymen Arensman put in a combative ride from the front at Il Lombardia on the way to 15th place.

The Grenadier was active from the early stages of the season’s final Monument, helping to force along a counter-attack which eventually bridged to form the day’s breakaway.

Also present in the 23-man move was Brandon Rivera, with the Colombian doing a great job to put in extra turns and help drive the move along across the 255-kilometre parcours. Connor Swift was also part of an active start to the race, heading up the road early on.

The peloton races next to Lake Como. Sirotti photo

Arensman was one of the final two riders to be caught by the remaining peloton following the famed Madonna del Ghisallo climb. The catch with 48km to go also coincided with the launching of Tadej Pogacar’s winning solo attack.

The Slovanian (UAE Team Emirates) pushed clear to make it a fourth Il Lombardia win in a row – with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) rounding out the podium places.

Here’s the Il Lombardia report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike put up a valiant fight in the Tour of Lombardy, but despite their efforts, they left without a notable result. Wilco Kelderman and Tiesj Benoot were part of the breakaway early in the race, but the escapees' ambitions faded with around 50 kilometers to go.

Kelderman was the first to make a move for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, joining a group of twelve riders. However, they were soon chased down by another large group. Shortly after, Benoot and his fellow attackers bridged across, forming a lead group of more than twenty riders.

For a long time, the breakaway’s advantage hovered around three minutes. But on the Colma di Sormano, things unraveled quickly. As the peloton reeled in the escapees, Kelderman and Benoot’s hopes were dashed. With 50 kilometers remaining, Tadej Pogačar launched a powerful attack, quickly building a commanding lead and finishing solo in Como. Meanwhile, Matteo Jorgenson had a tough day and withdrew in the final phase of the race.

Here's Steven Kruijswijk at the start. Sirotti photo

“I had a fairly good day,” Benoot said after the finish. “At the start, I felt strong, but later in the race, I started having some stomach issues. We created a solid situation with a large breakaway, and the collaboration was decent. Everyone knew Pogačar would attack, but I believe a top result was still possible. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but we can’t blame ourselves for not trying. Now it’s time for a break before we shift focus to preparing for next season.”

Sports director Marc Reef elaborated on the team’s strategy for the day. “With Tiesj and Wilco, we aimed to reach the top of the Sormano with a decent lead. Unfortunately, Pogačar’s team kept the gap small and had everything under control. We’re satisfied with how we raced, though. We executed our plan and fought hard. This race never lies, and Pogačar simply had the best legs. As a team, we gave it our all, but the result didn’t turn out as we had hoped,” Reef concluded.

And here's the Il Lombardia report from Team dsm-firmenich PostNL:

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL’s Men’s program took on their last European race of the season on Saturday at Il Lombardia; the final Monument of the year. Laying ahead of them was an incredibly hard parcours with over 4500 metres of climbing packed into 250 grueling kilometres. Unfortunately, the team would only begin with six riders as Romain Bardet was unable to start due to illness. However, the rest of the squad rallied around each other well in what was a very attacking edition of the race.

Warren Barguil at the start. Sirotti photo

From the flag drop the pace was high and multiple attacks were made but nothing was able to stick. It took for on the second ascent of the race for a group to go clear at the front that included Martijn Tusveld. However, the peloton kept them somewhat close and more counter attacks were launched, with Kevin Vermaerke smartly following one of those larger moves. Eventually contact was made between the two leading groups and 23 riders came together at the head of the race; including the two Team dsm-firmenich PostNL riders. A determined peloton kept them close though and coming onto the Sormano ascent the gap was just one minute, where an infernal pace was set. As the peloton shredded, Tusveld was caught and passed first, before Vermaerke was reeled back in where he then found himself in a group alongside Warren Barguil. The duo continued to push to the line, with Vermaerke leading home the team just outside the top 20 on the day.

Vermaerke said: “It was the last race of the year for everyone and we knew it was going to be a long and hard day out. We had Martijn in a pretty strong break and on the second climb of the day another pretty strong group went across and I was able to follow the wheels and get there. I think when we look back on the race then we gave ourselves the best possible chance by having Martijn and I in the front. Martijn could help me save some energy and we then had Warren back in the peloton to try and follow there. The legs were honest on the Sormano and we just did the best effort we could. I don’t think we could have changed much more to get a better result today. I’m looking forward to off-season now and a little break, before getting back into it for next year.”

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary