Cycling: The winner of the tour also won the Tour of Lombardy. Tadej Pogacar beat Fausto Masnada in second place at the last monument of the year. The Italian drove the race of his life in his home country, but lost the decisive two-man sprint against the Slovenian.
Nobody can follow Pogacar
4.500 meters of altitude had to be covered on today's Lombardy tour over 239 kilometers from Como to Bergamo. No wonder, then, that this was a matter for the strongest climbers. So could with Tadej pogacar (UAE) who is probably also the best climber in the world at the moment. After the peloton was severely thinned out by several teams, he launched his attack around 36 kilometers from the finish line. No one was able to follow his start at Passo di Ganda and even then the pursuers were unable to reduce the gap significantly. Only Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) surprisingly managed to merge on the descent. But he could not defeat the tour winner. Tadej Pogacar makes history again. He is the first Slovenian to win the Tour of Lombardy.
10 men in the escape group
A breakaway group of 10 men was to determine the 115th Tour of Lombardy from the start. Mattia Bais (Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec), Domen Novak (Bahrain-Victorious), Andrea Garosio (Bardiani – CSF – Faizanè), Thomas Champion (Cofidis), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux), Christopher Hamilton (DSM), Amanuel Ghebreigzahier (Trek - Segafredo), Davide Orrico (Vini Zabu), Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka – NextHash) and Tim Wellens (Lotto – Soudal). Together they were given a lead of several minutes by the peloton. But the pace there was also very high, mainly thanks to the Belgian team Deceuninck – Quick-Step. Therefore, the four-time tour winner was already on the climb to Dossena - more than 80 kilometers from the finish Chris Froome (Israel – Start Up Nation) dropped.
Nibali & Pogacar go on the offensive
The last remaining escapees were caught before the Passo die Ganda, which decided the race. Other attacks – including from Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) - were foiled. The Belgian team Deceuninck – Quick-Step gradually pushed the pace to thin out the peloton more and more. Another tightening of the pace Tiesj Benoot (DSM) caught Rigoberto Urán (EF), Alexander Vlasov (Astana – Premier Tech) and many more pros on the wrong foot. Also Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) couldn't keep up. Not too fast it was evident for Vincenzo Nibali (Trek – Segafedo). The Shark of Messina launched his attack with 38km to go while Ineos Grenadiers took control of what was perhaps 25 men in the field. Shortly thereafter, the tour winner went Tadej pogacar (UAE) went on the offensive - and the group disintegrated completely.
Masnada is driving the race of his life
Since no one could follow him uphill, Tadej pogacar (UAE) has a 36km solo ahead of him. A strong chasing group formed behind them. But also the attempt of Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) to restore contact with the crowbar on the descent failed. So teammate tried Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), who comes here from the destination Bergamo and therefore has the best knowledge of the route. He actually managed to catch up with the Tour winner downhill while the group was behind and 45 seconds back.
Pogacar defies stable order at Deceuninck - Quick-Step
Got about 10 kilometers from the finish Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) from his sport director the clear announcement not to carry it anymore. Since back with world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) was probably the fastest rider in terms of spin and was seen as having the best chance of winning. But because the Frenchman was also not in the lead at the back, the chasing group was suddenly at odds again. The lead – which had already dropped to 25 seconds – increased again. So the two leaders should decide the victory among themselves. Tadej pogacar (UAE) couldn't leave his companion behind on the last climb, the Colle Aperto. In Bergamo, his birthplace, there was a two-man sprint for victory. The winner of the tour finally decided this for himself. Nevertheless, Fausto Masnada can be proud of his performance today.
Vincenzo Nibali est repris mais repart à l'assaut directement avec Tadej Pogacar et Pavel Sivakov ! #ILombardy pic.twitter.com/VELzIxQDPe
— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) October 9, 2021
Bisiklet sezonunu Tadej Pogacar'ın 35km kala yaptığı atak ve zafer ile bitiriyoruz. Masnada inişte çok iyi fark kapattı ama Tadej sprinted vurdu geçti. #IlLombardia
pic.twitter.com/xjQfejGjfg— Basketcireis (@basketcireis) October 9, 2021