Tadej Pogacar will try to close the year with success, equaling the record of the great cyclist Fausto Coppi, who had four consecutive victories in Il Lombardia, the last of the four ‘Monumento’ classics of the season.
Slovenian star Pogacar made history last month when he was crowned world champion for the first time.
That victory in Zurich made him only the third man to win the rainbow jersey, having won the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in the same year, equal to Stephen Roche and Eddy Merckx.
Now Pogacar is preparing to equal Coppi’s ‘tetra’ between 1946 and 1949 in this series called “the classic of fallen leaves”in northern Italy, the special end-of-season race that he has won in increasingly impressive fashion with each passing year.
Pogacar won last year’s edition with a solo attack, largely his own, in a 32 km burst to Bergamo, in another impressive campaign.
“It was the perfect season for us this year. The whole team worked hard and things worked out really well for us,” said Pogacar.
“I will certainly look back on this year as a very special period. But it is not over yet, and we want to finish it well and with a great result in my last race of the season in Lombardy.”
At a press conference on Friday, the Team UAE rider asked about the most controversial topic in sport and cycling, doping, that doubts arise because “Cycling has been a victim in the past.”
“There is always jealousy, but dominance and dominance happen everywhere, in business and in sport. Hegemony lasts a few years, then new talents emerge,” he said.
The 26-year-old started his season in Italy eight months ago, winning the Strade Bianche with an 81km sprint.
Between those two victories, Pogacar took his second Liège-Bastogne-Liège and won a stage in each of his Tour and Giro victories, victories that made him the heir not only of Coppi, but also of Merckx himself.
- Evenepoel threat? – And Pogacar has a truly stellar team of UAE teammates to accompany him on the ever-challenging 252 kilometer race between Bergamo and Como, which includes 4,800 meters of tough climbing.
Adam Yates and Rafal Majka have already reached the podium at Il Lombardia, and are included in the six-man team that will attack Saturday’s race, which is unlikely to be affected by the weather which led to Tre Valli Varesine canceled last weekend. .
The only rider in the field who seems capable of questioning Pogacar’s victory is the two-time Olympic champion, Remco Evenepoel, who returns to the scene of the horrific accident four years ago.
Belgium’s Evenepoel suffered a broken leg after falling from a wall, an injury that kept him out of action until the following year’s Giro d’Italia.
The 24-year-old has had a fantastic season, with Olympic gold in Paris in the road race and time trial, as well as a successful defense of his world time trial title last month, as well as an impressive podium at the Tour.
“He looks good and very motivated,” said Soudal-Quick Step team director Davide Bramati in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He could have stayed at home after the World Cup, given everything he’s achieved this year, but he’s got a lot of determination and wants to try.”
However, he withdrew from last weekend’s Giro dell’Emilia – which Pogacar won – due to an eye problem. Perhaps these indications suggest that he may not be in the ideal shape to stop his opponent from adding another big win to a long list of achievements.