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Who are the favourites for Il Lombardia 2024?
The final Monument of the season, Il Lombardia, will take place on 12th October 2024. This year the peloton will depart from Bergamo and head over climbs including the Madonna del Ghisallo and Colma di Sormano towards Como, totalling 252km of racing.
Last year’s edition was won by Tadej Pogačar in what was his third consecutive Il Lombardia victory. He attacked on the Passo di Ganda and soloed to victory as Andrea Bagioli and Primož Roglič completed the podium. Pogačar returns to the start line with a four-peat very much on the cards while Roglič has decided not to take on the race this year. However, there are riders also eyeing a Monument for their palmarès who will try their best to thwart Pogačar.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
The unstoppable force of Tadej Pogačar could be the second man since Fausto Coppi (1946-1949) to win four editions of Il Lombardia in a row. After taking a break following his Giro-Tour double, the 26-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down, powering to a World Championship Road Race victory that leads him to the start line in the rainbow bands.
The hilly parcours suit him, as evidenced by his three consecutive wins so far, and it feels like only a matter of time before he launches another classic solo attack on the road to Como.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)
Remco Evenepoel suffered a horrifying crash at Il Lombardia in 2020, in which he fell into a ravine on the descent of the Muro di Sormano. A fractured pelvis ended his season and he began a long road to recovery. He returned to the race in 2021 for 19th place but his best result came in 2023 where he finished ninth from the second group on the road.
Evenepoel has had immense success in one-day races and, while Lombardia is not on his extensive palmarès, his prominence in races like this is evidenced by his dominant win at the Olympics earlier this year.
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike)
After overall success at Paris-Nice, victory at Dwars Door Vlaanderen and a top ten at the Tour de France, American Matteo Jorgenson is in the form of his life in 2024.
Last year he crossed the line at Il Lombardia in 23rd and was the highest-placed rider on the Movistar squad in a group three minutes down on Pogačar. Jorgenson should get a top ten and has the capability to get on the podium if he manages his effort and gets in the right moves.
Enric Mas (Movistar)
Movistar’s Enric Mas hasn’t won since Giro dell’Emilia in 2022, the same year in which he finished second to Pogačar at Il Lombardia. It was a tight finish at the Race of the Falling Leaves where, try as he might, Mas couldn’t distance the defending champion in the run up to the line.
After finishing on the Vuelta podium, Mas has been consistent recently with eighth places in his last two races, the World Championships and the Giro dell’Emilia.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)
Olympic MTB gold medallist Tom Pidcock just raced to second place behind Pogačar at the Giro dell’Emilia, but his best result on the road this season was an impressive victory at the Amstel Gold Race. It speaks to his talents to include him in a list of favourites despite never having raced this Monument before, but his Classics experience and current form should put him in contention for a good result here.
Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL)
This will be Romain Bardet‘s final time racing Il Lombardia ahead of his retirement next summer. The Frenchman has been flying this year with a second place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a brilliant escape to win Stage 1 and wear the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France.
More recently, he raced to tenth place in the World Championship Road Race. Winning is perhaps a step too far when faced with Pogačar, but a podium is within his reach if he has a good day.
Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek)
Andrea Bagioli enjoyed a brilliant run of Italian races in October last season when racing for Soudal-QuickStep, finishing third in Coppa Bernocchi, winning Gran Piemonte and finishing second to Pogačar at Il Lombardia.
Now at Lidl-Trek, the 25-year-old hasn’t had the same success this year with a DNF at the Giro dell’Emilia, but he will be on the start line at Lombardia once more alongside a strong team that includes Giulio Ciccone, Bauke Mollema and Toms Skujiņš.
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