The 23-year-old Slovenian won the 115th Tour of Lombardy, making him the first professional cyclist to do so since Bernard Hinault in 1979, who won the Tour de France and the Italian Monument in the same year. After 239 kilometres from Como to Bergamo, Pogacar prevailed in the sprint against the Italian Fausto Masnada in the race of the falling leaves. In the sprint of the chasing group, Great Britain's Adam Yates finished third, 51 seconds behind.
"It's crazy. To get a win like this at the end after such a season," said Pogacar. "I knew that Masnada knew the roads here pretty well and would catch me. He didn't work with me then, but luckily we had enough of a lead."
After the race offered little excitement over 200 kilometres, Pogacar launched the decisive attack on the Passo di Ganda a good 35 kilometres before the finish. Behind the Tour winner, a group of nine riders gathered with world champion Julian Alaphilippe, Alejandro Valverde, Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic and Yates. As the top riders were divided in their pursuit of Pogacar, outsider Masnada attacked on the descent and caught up with Pogacar. However, the Slovenian was unbeatable in the sprint and won Il Lombardia on his very first appearance. Pogacar had previously won Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year, his first major classic.
German riders played no part in the chase through the north of Italy over seven climbs. Maximilian Schachmann, who finished seventh last year, was not nominated by his team Bora-hansgrohe. The German champion is still suffering from the consequences of a crash at Paris-Roubaix last week. The Tour of Lombardy was supposed to be the highlight of the autumn races for Schachmann.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:211009-99-538990/3
