BERGAMO, Italy (AP) — Tadej Pogačar made it a hat trick of wins at Il Lombardia, fighting off cramp to again successfully defend his title in the final one-day classic of the season on Saturday.
Pogačar attacked on the final descent, with around 30 kilometers (19 miles) remaining of the 238-kilometer (148-mile) route from Como to Bergamo, and the Slovenian cyclist swiftly built a gap.
He could clearly be seen grimacing in pain and banging his thigh in the final 10 kilometers (6 miles) as he struggled with cramp but the two-time Tour de France champion held on for a comfortable victory.
Pogačar had plenty of time to celebrate on the approach to the finish line. He crossed 51 seconds ahead of Andrea Bagioli and compatriot Primož Roglič, who was riding in his last race for Jumbo-Visma before moving to Bora-Hansgrohe.
“To win for the third time in my third participation and for the second time here in Bergamo, it’s a dream come true,” said Pogačar, who rides for UAE Team Emirates. “I wanted to win solo but I thought Alexander Vlasov would stay with me for longer because he was one of the strongest today.
“In the moment I got a little gap, I did the descent much better than two years ago. I got cramps on my right leg and I’ve thought I was done but I pushed through. It’s amazing!”
Pogacar is the third rider to win three consecutive editions of Il Lombardia after Fausto Coppi in 1946-1949 (4) and Alfredo Binda in 1925-1927.
There was more misery for Remco Evenepoel in Italy as the Belgian champion once again crashed in Il Lombardia, although fortunately the incident was a lot less serious than three years ago.
Evenepoel, who was one of the pre-race favorites, crashed early on Saturday and although he was able to continue he was left with a bloodied knee and elbow and eventually finished ninth, 1 minute, 26 seconds behind Pogačar.
A crash at Il Lombardia in 2020 sent Evenepoel flying over a bridge and left him with a broken pelvis.
His first race back was the Giro d’Italia the following year but he also crashed out of that. Evenepoel had to withdraw from this year’s Italian Grand Tour after testing positive for coronavirus when he was leading the race.
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