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Sunday, October 12, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
It always seems impossible until it's done. - Nelson Mandela
l & Carol McGann’s book The Story of the 2024 Tour de France: The Happy Warrior Triumphs is available print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the link on the right.
Current racing:
- October 12: Paris-Tours
Upcoming racing:
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Guangxi
- October 14 - 19: Tour of Holland
- October 15: Giro del Veneto
- October 19: Veneto Classic
Latest completed racing:
- October 11: Il Lombardia
- October 9: Gran Piemonte
- October 7: Binche-Chimay-Binche
- October 7: Tre Valli Varesine
- October 6: Coppa Bernocchi
- September 28 - October 5: Tour de Langkawi
- October 5: Coppa Agostoni
- October 4: Giro dell'Emilia
- October 3: Mûnsterland Giro
- September 21 - 28: World Cycling Championships
- September 17 - 21: Tour de Luxembourg
We posted the report from second-place Remco Evenepoel with the results.
Here's the report from winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
With another peerless display in the world champion’s rainbow bands, Tadej Pogačar won Il Lombardia on Saturday afternoon for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. It is another victory in a remarkable season for both Pogačar and the Emirati squad, with the Slovenian adding to his titles at the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Tadej Pogacar attacks on the Passo di Ganda
Making Il Lombardia his third win in a Monument Classic this season, Pogačar becomes only the second rider in history to win three Monuments in the same calendar year, following in the wheel tracks of Eddy Merckx. It is not the only slice of history that Pogačar takes with his latest win in Bergamo.
Between his wins in Flanders, Liège and Lombardia, his third-place finish at Milano-Sanremo in March, and his runner-up spot at Paris-Roubaix in April, the reigning two-time world champion becomes the first rider in history to finish on the podium of all five Monuments in the same season.
Making his winning attack with 34km to go on Saturday, the 27-year-old roared up the final climb into the Città Alta, before descending into the city to take his fifth successive win at the Race of the Falling Leaves.
In doing so, he draws level with the great Fausto Coppi on five wins at Il Lombardia, with the pair sitting at the top of the all-time winners’ pile.
Winning every edition since 2021, however, Pogačar has gone one clear of Coppi’s feats from the 1940s, becoming the first rider in history to win five instalments of the ‘Giro di Lombardia’ on the bounce.
Speaking after the finish, the world champion reflected on an incredible season that has seen him retain his Tour de France title, win the European Championship for the first time, and bring up 100 career victories as a professional.
Pogačar: “To win five times in a row, every time I have started, it feels that this course and this race are really suited for me. Also, at the same time, I have such a good team around me that we can pull it off. Big thanks to all my teammates!
“Domen did a fantastic job, then Pavel was also really impressive today, then all the guys leading out on the final climb and protecting me from behind was top-class work and just impressive stuff from my teammates.
“I always say, seven years in a row, this is my best season so far. And again, I can say that this is the best season so far.”
Pogačar’s latest win takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s season win tally to 93, with the Emirati squad continuing to build on the previous all-time season record of 85 set by Team Columbia-HTC in 2009.
Under the autumn sun of Lombardy, Pogačar’s teammate Isaac del Toro produced his own brilliant display to take fifth place across the line, with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) finishing as the runner-up. Rafał Majka, meanwhile, brought the curtain down on his 15-year professional career.
The Polish national champion has spent his last five seasons with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and in that time has helped Pogačar to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. With a palmarès that also includes three stages of the Tour de France, two wins in the King of the Mountains classification at the Tour, and two stages of the Vuelta a España, the 36-year-old has enjoyed a marvellous career as both a leader and teammate.
It has been in his final years with the Emirati squad that the Pole has become instrumental in helping the team to three successive years as the UCI No.1-ranked WorldTeam. Known as a mentor to his younger teammates, a loyal helper when called upon, and a rider who can still climb with the best on the hardest terrain, Majka has been an exceptional member of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad to the last.
Bringing an end to his career with another fine display in aid of Pogačar on Saturday, the two-time Polish national champion leaves with the best wishes and thanks of everybody at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, both riders and staff alike.
Pogačar’s victory was built on the hard work of his teammates, who made Saturday’s race hard from afar. Earlier in the day, a 12-rider breakaway went clear of the peloton, containing the likes of Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), but the Emirati squad always kept their advantage within reach.
Domen Novak, Rafał Majka and Pavel Sivakov kept the pace well and truly on throughout the day, and on the penultimate climb of the day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG unleashed Pogačar.
Only Simmons had remained out front from the breakaway, but he was soon caught and passed by the Slovenian. As Pogačar began his solo march from 34km to go, his teammates Isaac del Toro, Jay Vine and Adam Yates marked the moves behind.
With their help, no successful chase was ever going to coalesce, and most of the top 20 came up the Colle Aperto in Bergamo on their hands and knees. Del Toro, to his credit, dug deep and claimed fifth place on his debut outing at Il Lombardia. Vine finished in ninth, with Yates not far behind in 11th.
Here's the Lombardy report from third-place Michael Storer's Tudor Pro Cycling Team:
The 240-kilometer route from Como to Bergamo set the stage for a brutal showdown in the mountains of northern Italy. Tudor Pro Cycling animated the early part of the race, before the decisive moment arrived on the Passo di Ganda with 40 km to go. There, Storer was perfectly placed, even receiving a motivating tap on the back from teammate Julian Alaphilippe before the final action began.
Chasing hard behind Quinn Simmons, Storer kept his composure when Tadej Pogačar launched the winning move. Riding shoulder-to-shoulder with Remco Evenepoel, he lost a handful of seconds on the descent but held off the chasers with grit and determination. Crossing the line alone in Bergamo, Storer sealed a career-defining third place — emotional, exhausted, and almost in disbelief.
Michael Storer finishes third. Sirotti photo
“It’s a dream to stand on the podium at Il Lombardia, a Monument. Honestly, it’s something I never thought I could achieve in my career. I was feeling really good today from the start and was quite sure that a top-10 was totally realistic. Then, if I have a good day, who knows? It turns out it was that 'who knows?',” said Storer.
Reflecting on the final hour of race, he added: “When Pogačar went solo, our group just kept thinning out. On the last climb, I was in a world of pain, but the atmosphere was incredible. Usually, I’m conservative on descents, but today I went all-in. It was a sprint out of every corner to stay on Remco’s wheel, and at some point, unfortunately, I just didn’t have the legs to close the gaps anymore. It’s the perfect way to finish a great season — now, it’s time for some well-deserved rest.”
Tudor Pro Cycling CEO Raphael Meyer summed up the achievement with pride: “I am so proud of the team today and of the journey we’re on — from being a Continental squad in 2022 to a Monument podium in 2025, passing by our first WorldTour win and a Grand Tour Top-10 on 2024. These steps are only possible thanks to our partners who trust and support us every day.”
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Eighth-place Egan Bernal's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this report:
Egan Bernal sprinted to eighth place at Il Lombardia to cap off a strong and consistent end to the season for the Colombian champion.
Bernal came home as part of a chase group in the battle for fifth place in Bergamo, securing a top-10 finish in the final Monument of 2025.
The finish: Thomas Pidcock (6th), Paul Seixas (7th) & Egan Bernal (8th). Sirotti photo
The Grenadier settled into the group as the lead pack split apart early on the Passo di Ganda, following a major acceleration at the head of the group. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) would forge clear with 36 kilometres to go and win solo by a margin of 1:48 over Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick-Step).
Earlier on following an active start the Grenadiers would place three riders in the day’s breakaway, with Filippo Ganna, Victor Langellotti and Lucas Hamilton representing the team in the 14-man group. The move saw their gap spin out to over three minutes following the Madonna del Ghisallo, but would eventually be reeled in by the UAE-led peloton.
The day was also notable as it marked the final race in the career of Salvatore Puccio. Finishing at home on Italian soil, the 36 year old spent all 14 seasons of his professional career with the team.
After the race Bernal said: "It has been a very fast day. I tried to follow on the climb in which everyone went full gas and later a small gap opened and I didn’t have it in me to close it, therefore I ended up in the middle.
"From there I managed my pace and I stayed in a group with Tom (Pidcock) and Lenny (Martinez). And the final sprint was more for the honor of it.
"[A top 10 at the end of the season] I think it gives me confidence and I hope next year will be a good year, it’s good to finish being a little bit more on the front."
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Here’s the Lombardy report from tenth place Cian Uijtdebroeks’ Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Cian Uijtdebroeks secured a top-ten finish in the 119th edition of Il Lombardia. The young Belgian fought strongly in the final part of the race, crossing the line in tenth place. Tadej Pogačar lived up to expectations by taking a dominant solo victory.
Early in the Italian fall classic, Bart Lemmen joined an early breakaway of fourteen riders. The group, however, never gained a significant advantage over the peloton, meaning the Dutchman could not play a decisive role once the race entered its demanding finale.
On the Passo di Ganda, the pace increased. Ben Tulett and Uijtdebroeks gave it their all but were unable to follow the favourites. Pogačar proved the strongest and finished solo in Bergamo, while Uijtdebroeks fought hard to claim an impressive tenth place.
Cian Uijtdebroeks finishes tenth. Sirotti photo
“It was a really tough day,” Uijtdebroeks reflected. “I felt quite good. When Pogačar attacked, I was a bit too far back, so I rode my own tempo. Fortunately, I managed to rejoin the chasing group. The final kilometres were all about suffering, but I’m happy with tenth place in my first Monument. I can look back positively on today.”
Sports director Marc Reef was also pleased with the team’s performance. “It was a hard race from start to finish. We focused on the Passo di Ganda because we expected that’s where the race would explode, and that’s exactly what happened. Tiesj Benoot positioned Cian and Ben well before the climb, after which Cian crested it in a chasing group. As we didn’t have the top favourite within our ranks, we can be satisfied with tenth for Cian and fourteenth for Ben.”
Davide Piganzoli's Team Polti-VisitMalta posted this report:
Alongside the Tour de Vendée, where Lonardi took a podium finish, today was also the big day of the year’s final Monument for Team Polti VisitMalta: Il Lombardia. A brutally hard race, made even tougher by the infernal pace set from the very start: Mattia Bais broke away early together with 13 other riders, including big names such as Ganna, Bilbao, Matthews and Simmons, and stayed at the front for 160 kilometres before being dropped on the Passo della Crocetta. There he still managed to stay a bit in the bunch and help Davide Piganzoli, who, after the subsequent explosion on the Passo di Ganda triggered by the inevitable Pogacar, kept his composure, maintained his rhythm and finished 16th.
The peloton rolls out from the start city of Como. Sirotti photo
Sports Director Stefano Zanatta: “Bais did a great job getting into a truly high-quality move and staying there as long as he could. Unfortunately, Piganzoli had a puncture on the Roncola but managed to get back on in Berbenno with the help of Alessandro Tonelli — those are unexpected efforts that, against WorldTour powerhouses, eventually take their toll. His result is therefore one to be applauded, as is the performance of all his teammates, who were up to the level of the Classic of the Falling Leaves.”
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And here's the Il Lombardia report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
For part of the professional peloton, the 2025 season came to a close this Saturday in the streets of Bergamo. Il Lombardia, the fifth and final Monument of the season, saw Tadej Pogacar triumph for the fifth time in a row, while the Groupama-FDJ couldn’t compete for a top result in the Italian Classic. Rudy Molard was the first one to reach the finish line, in 30th place.
After Como last year, it was once again in Bergamo, as it was for Thibaut Pinot’s farewell in 2023, that the finish line of the Tour of Lombardy was located this Saturday. The famous climb of the Madonna del Ghisallo was therefore placed at the very beginning of the course, while the ascents of the Passo della Crocetta (11.7 km at 5.8%), Zambla Alta (2.5 km at 7%) and the Passo di Ganda (9.3 km at 7.1%) were expected to be the key moments of the final, before the last hill (1.3 km at 7.7%) in the streets of Bergamo.
Team Groupama-FDJ picks up their bikes before the race start. Sirotti photo.
Given the menu and the competition, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team planned to anticipate the big fight by putting a man at the front. However, they were caught off guard. “The breakaway surprised us because it went at km 0,” confirmed Benoît Vaugrenard. “Fourteen riders immediately went clear, then it was a very classic scenario with UAE Team Emirates. For us, it became a waiting race, in which it was difficult to have an impact.” Due to the sustained pace set by the world champion’s teammates from the start, the peloton started to get smaller in the first hills at the halfway point.
At the end of the ascent of the Passo della Crocetta, barely 80 riders were still present in the pack chasing the leading man, Quinn Simmons. “The guys weren’t having a great day, and with 80 kilometres to go, only Rudy was left up there,” Benoît added. “Clement was caught in a crash early on, and Guillaume is still getting back on track after his injury. It was a race for climbers, a very hard one, and we weren’t strong enough as a team today.”
Although the experienced Frenchman was able to make it to the bottom of the decisive climb of the Passo di Ganda within the peloton, he quickly had to surrender after Tadej Pogacar’s early attack and the start of the big fight. The Slovenian achieved another solo raid to reach the finish line victoriously forty kilometres later, while Rudy Molard came seven minutes later and took thirtieth place. “It’s a disappointing day,” confessed Benoît. “We knew we weren’t the favorites at the start, and far from it, but we were hoping for better, we were aiming for a top 10 finish. It’s a day to forget.”
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