Pogacar with a show of force | October 12, 2024
While Marc Hirschi from Bern comes away empty-handed, for Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel it is a clear case who takes which place on the podium. The Slovenian is three minutes ahead of first place.
Marc Hirschi fails to achieve a podium finish in Lombardy. Photo: Keystone
Tadej Pogacar wins the Tour of Lombardy for the fourth time in a row. The Slovenian reached the finish in Como solo. Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel took second place, 3:15 minutes behind.
Marc Hirschi, the highest Swiss trump card, was not allowed to play. The Bernese put himself in the service of Pogacar and had to close a hole before the Slovenian’s attack.
The Lombardy tour over 252 kilometers with eight climbs is tailored to mountain specialists. Pogacar was basically the only favorite and did full justice to the role. The 26-year-old reached the culmination point at the last significant obstacle, 41 kilometers from the finish, 1:09 minutes ahead of the first three pursuers including Evenepoel. And the show running continued on the downhill and on the surface too.
An outstanding year for Pogacar
With victory at the fifth and final monument of the season, the Slovenian rounded off an outstanding year in style. The Slovenian started his season dernière in the world champion jersey in Zurich after winning the Giro and the Tour de France and also triumphing at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Strade Bianche.
Pogacar cannot currently be beaten with his physicality, but only with his tactics. Almost every team sent a driver into a larger escape group to see how Pogacar’s UAE team would react. When the lead had grown to over four minutes, Hirschi and Jan Christen were called into action.
On the way to Como, Pogacar drew level with Alfredo Binda, who also won this Italian autumn classic four times between 1925 and 1931. Fausto Coppi remains – at least until autumn of next year – the only driver to have won the Tour of Lombardy five times, including four times in a row (1946 to 1949 and 1954).
