Nibali wins Il Lombardia

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) set out is intentions for Il Lombardia early on when he went to recon the final 100 kilometres of the route and he used that experience to take an impressive solo victory in Como on Sunday. Daniel Moreno (Katusha) put in a valiant chase but couldn’t match the descending skills of the Italian and took second place. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) came home in third to complete the podium. It was Nibali's first Monument victory of his career.

“I’ve always wanted to win a race of this stature and of this kind and it was my time to win it,” Nibali said at the finish. “To win a Monument you also have to be lucky. It has been a great day.”

Nibali had looked strong throughout the day, even taking to the front of the bunch on the formidable Muro di Sormano. Astana had strength in numbers too, driving the pace and shedding some serious rivals in the process. Nibali still had Diego Rosa for company when it came to the two crucial, final, climbs and the pair worked together to put their rivals under pressure.

It wasn’t until near the top of the Civiglio that Nibali threw a move up the middle of a seven-man group. He pulled out a fair advantage but he really made the difference on the twisting descent, as he pushed the limits of the road. After the hair-raising ride down the other side, the Italian had 40 seconds as the chasers behind struggled to mount a proper challenge.

Rosa helped his elder teammate out, running down anyone who did dare to try and chase him down. Moreno helped to bring back plenty of moves and it even looked like he was working for fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). There was no doubt about his intentions when he brought back a move by Pinot with six kilometres to go. Another kick on the tougher slopes of the San Fermo della Battaglia saw him shed the Frenchman.

At one point it seemed like only a matter of time that he would close down Nibali but the Italian’s superior descending skills proved vital once again and he had enough time to celebrate in the final 300 metres.

How it happened

The 198-strong peloton lined up under cloudy skies and rain at the start in Bergamo and many decided to remain in their team bus until as close to the start as possible. They did eventually set off at just after 10:30 local time to tackle the 245-kilometre course. It was a quick start to the day with several riders attempting to escape early on.

A number of groups were successful, eventually forming the 11-man move that would spend most of the day out front. The lucky riders who got away were: Stefan Schumacher (CCC Sprandi), Enrico Barbin (Badiani CSF), Jan Polanc (Lampre-Merida), Matteo Busato (Southeast), Dennis Van Winden (LottoNL-Jumbo), Simon Geschke (Giant-Alpecin), Pier Paolo de Negri (Nippo-Vini Fantini), Marco Canola (UnitedHealthcare), Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon 18), Jerome Coppel (IAM Cycling) and Oscar Gatto (Androni Giocattoli).

Their gap quickly grew to a maximum of over eight minutes, with the peloton happy to take it a little easier. The pace did slow but, as the rain cleared, they still motored along a touch quicker than the fastest predicted time schedule. Astana had been bullish before the race and they lived up to their promise by controlling the peloton for almost the whole day, with a little help from Movistar and Team Sky.

As the race reached the halfway point, the 11 escapees saw their gap begin to disappear before their eyes. By the time they neared the bottom of the Madonna di Ghisallo, it was just a tiny 2:30 that separated them from the pack behind.

It had been a fairly placid affair until now but when the riders hit the Ghisallo all bets were off and the attacks started to come in. Up front, Benedetti and Canola distanced their tired companions, while Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) and six others set off in chase. Kwiatkowski was joined in his endeavours by Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), Tom Jelte Slagter (Cannondale-Garmin), Matteo Trentin, Carlos Verona, Lukasz Wisniowski (Etixx-QuickStep), Jon Izagirre (Movistar), Robert Gesink, Timo Roosen (Lotto NL-Jumbo), Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing).

Once the Ghisallo was dispatched with, the formidable Muro di Sormano was next in their sights. The punishing climb saw the riders almost grind to a halt as the 1,900 metres ticked by slowly. Kwiatkowski and Wellens emerged from the chasing group and eased passed Benedetti and Canola. Kwiatkowski looked the most comfortable of the two and pulled out a small gap, forcing Wellens to work hard to chase him down.

Astana continued to pile on the power behind, reducing the bunch to less than 20 riders by the top of the Sormano. While some were able to get back on, key riders such as Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) were dropped and distanced. Gilbert tried to reel them back in but it came to nothing.

The twisting descent of the Sormano made for some heart-stopping watching but it didn’t faze Astana that began taking chunks out of the fragile lead of Kwiatkowski and Wellens. The bottom of the Civiglio spelled the end of their day and despite a last ditch attempt from Kwiatkowski, he was no match for the Astana team.

Astana, as they had been doing all day, put men on the front and burned off yet more riders until we were left with just seven out front. As the last rider pulled off, Nibali made his first of many attacks. His teammate Rosa was distanced briefly but came back when Team Sky’s Sergio Henao put in the work to bring himself back into contention.

Pinot, Rosa and Mikel Nieve were the main protagonists on the penultimate climb but nobody could snap the elastic. It took Nibali’s move with 17 kilometres remaining to finally do it and once he’d gone there was nobody who could touch him as he stormed to his first Monument victory.

 

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team6:16:28
2Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha0:00:21
3Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr0:00:32
4Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team0:00:46
5Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 4 - Cell 2
6Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Team SkyRow 5 - Cell 2
7Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal0:00:56
8Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica GreenEdgeRow 7 - Cell 2
9Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team SkyRow 8 - Cell 2
10Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step0:01:10
11Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo0:03:06
12Wouter Poels (Ned) Team Sky0:04:10
13Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team0:04:23
14Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Argon 18Row 13 - Cell 2
15Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 14 - Cell 2
16Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 15 - Cell 2
17Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:04:25
18Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdgeRow 17 - Cell 2
19Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale0:04:58
20Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 19 - Cell 2
21Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale0:05:25
22Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF0:05:44
23Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 22 - Cell 2
24Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 23 - Cell 2
25Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team KatushaRow 24 - Cell 2
26Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 25 - Cell 2
27Leopold Konig (Cze) Team Sky0:05:50
28Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team0:06:01
29Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team0:06:21
30Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice0:06:26
31Dominik Nerz (Ger) Bora-Argon 180:07:02
32Matteo Busato (Ita) SoutheastRow 31 - Cell 2
33Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing TeamRow 32 - Cell 2
34Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Southeast0:08:37
35George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo0:08:55
36Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 35 - Cell 2
37Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-MeridaRow 36 - Cell 2
38Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory RacingRow 37 - Cell 2
39Simone Ponzi (Ita) SoutheastRow 38 - Cell 2
40Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 39 - Cell 2
41Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ.frRow 40 - Cell 2
42Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Colombia0:09:35
43Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Trek Factory RacingRow 42 - Cell 2
44Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling TeamRow 43 - Cell 2
45Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La MondialeRow 44 - Cell 2
46Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Lampre-MeridaRow 45 - Cell 2
47Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling TeamRow 46 - Cell 2
48Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Argon 18Row 47 - Cell 2
49Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni GiocattoliRow 48 - Cell 2
50Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory RacingRow 49 - Cell 2
51Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli0:09:36
52Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling TeamRow 51 - Cell 2
53Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step0:09:41
54Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 53 - Cell 2
55Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM CyclingRow 54 - Cell 2
56Adam Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge0:11:58
57Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha0:14:59
58Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo0:15:01
59Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNL-JumboRow 58 - Cell 2
60Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team SkyRow 59 - Cell 2
61Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) ColombiaRow 60 - Cell 2
62Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.frRow 61 - Cell 2
63Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 62 - Cell 2
64Mauro Finetto (Ita) SoutheastRow 63 - Cell 2
65Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar TeamRow 64 - Cell 2
66Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 65 - Cell 2
67Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 66 - Cell 2
68Maciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 67 - Cell 2
69Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 68 - Cell 2
70Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing TeamRow 69 - Cell 2
71Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 70 - Cell 2
72Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Team SkyRow 71 - Cell 2
73Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team0:15:06
74Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida0:17:22
75Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek Factory RacingRow 74 - Cell 2
76Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge0:19:49
77Stefan Schumacher (Ger) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 76 - Cell 2
78Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 77 - Cell 2
79Stef Clement (Ned) IAM CyclingRow 78 - Cell 2
80Sylwester Szmyd (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 79 - Cell 2
81Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 80 - Cell 2
82Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 81 - Cell 2
83Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 82 - Cell 2
84Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 83 - Cell 2
85Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 84 - Cell 2
86Adrian Honkisz (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 85 - Cell 2
87Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Lampre-MeridaRow 86 - Cell 2
88Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdgeRow 87 - Cell 2
89Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team0:19:51
90Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNL-JumboRow 89 - Cell 2
91Gianfranco Zilioli (Ita) Androni GiocattoliRow 90 - Cell 2
92Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 91 - Cell 2
93Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 92 - Cell 2
94Rodolfo Andres Torres Agudelo (Col) ColombiaRow 93 - Cell 2
95Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 94 - Cell 2
96Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 95 - Cell 2
97Sergey Lagutin (Rus) Team KatushaRow 96 - Cell 2
98Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin0:19:52
99Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo0:23:12
DNFJasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar TeamRow 99 - Cell 2
DNFDidier Alonso Chaparro Lopez (Col) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 100 - Cell 2
DNFEduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 101 - Cell 2
DNFGenki Yamamoto (Jpn) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 102 - Cell 2
DNFJohannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 103 - Cell 2
DNFChad Haga (USA) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 104 - Cell 2
DNFTobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 105 - Cell 2
DNFLuka Mezgec (Slo) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 106 - Cell 2
DNFBertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-JumboRow 107 - Cell 2
DNFBruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 108 - Cell 2
DNFDaniele Ratto (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling TeamRow 110 - Cell 2
DNFSonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 111 - Cell 2
DNFAlan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling TeamRow 112 - Cell 2
DNFDamiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 113 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing TeamRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFJan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18Row 115 - Cell 2
DNFCristiano Salerno (Ita) Bora-Argon 18Row 116 - Cell 2
DNFJorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) ColombiaRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Martínez (Col) ColombiaRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFMichele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFTom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFMoreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling TeamRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFAlessandro Malaguti (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFSamuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) BMC Racing TeamRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFMatteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFKristijan Durasek (Cro) Lampre-MeridaRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFManuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-MeridaRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFAndrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar TeamRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFSamuele Conti (Ita) SoutheastRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFKiel Reijnen (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFJesper Hansen (Den) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFJesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFRobert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFPawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFGiacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory RacingRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFJulian David Arredondo Moreno (Col) Trek Factory RacingRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFLaurent Didier (Lux) Trek Factory RacingRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFYaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek Factory RacingRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFAlessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 138 - Cell 2
DNFJanez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 139 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 140 - Cell 2
DNFLucas Euser (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 141 - Cell 2
DNFTanner Putt (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 142 - Cell 2
DNFFederico Zurlo (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro CyclingRow 143 - Cell 2
DNFHubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFGuillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Bandiera (Ita) Androni GiocattoliRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFOscar Gatto (Ita) Androni GiocattoliRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFSimone Stortoni (Ita) Androni GiocattoliRow 148 - Cell 2
DNFAlberto Nardin (Ita) Androni GiocattoliRow 149 - Cell 2
DNFValerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 150 - Cell 2
DNFDario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 151 - Cell 2
DNFMiguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana Pro TeamRow 152 - Cell 2
DNFFrancesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 153 - Cell 2
DNFLuca Chirico (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 154 - Cell 2
DNFStefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 155 - Cell 2
DNFSimone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFJosé Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Bora-Argon 18Row 157 - Cell 2
DNFPaul Voss (Ger) Bora-Argon 18Row 158 - Cell 2
DNFJan Hirt (Cze) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFLeszek Plucinski (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Cano Ardila (Col) ColombiaRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFFabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) ColombiaRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFRamirez Chacon Brayan Stiven (Col) ColombiaRow 163 - Cell 2
DNFMatteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 164 - Cell 2
DNFZdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 165 - Cell 2
DNFLukasz Wisniowski (Pol) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 166 - Cell 2
DNFAlexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.frRow 167 - Cell 2
DNFArnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.frRow 168 - Cell 2
DNFAnthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.frRow 169 - Cell 2
DNFJérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.frRow 170 - Cell 2
DNFArthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.frRow 171 - Cell 2
DNFTiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 172 - Cell 2
DNFLouis Vervaeke (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 173 - Cell 2
DNFJon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 174 - Cell 2
DNFMarc Soler (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 175 - Cell 2
DNFGiacomo Berlato (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 176 - Cell 2
DNFAlessandro Bisolti (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 177 - Cell 2
DNFSimon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdgeRow 178 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdgeRow 179 - Cell 2
DNFDamien Howson (Aus) Orica GreenEdgeRow 180 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Belletti (Ita) SoutheastRow 181 - Cell 2
DNFLuca Wackermann (Ita) SoutheastRow 182 - Cell 2
DNFLawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-AlpecinRow 183 - Cell 2
DNFJacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team KatushaRow 184 - Cell 2
DNFAlberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Team KatushaRow 185 - Cell 2
DNFAngel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Team KatushaRow 186 - Cell 2
DNFIlnur Zakarin (Rus) Team KatushaRow 187 - Cell 2
DNFSteven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-JumboRow 188 - Cell 2
DNFIan Boswell (USA) Team SkyRow 189 - Cell 2
DNFVasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team SkyRow 190 - Cell 2
DNFDaniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff-SaxoRow 191 - Cell 2
DNFJerome Coppel (Fra) IAM CyclingRow 192 - Cell 2
DNFStefan Denifl (Aut) IAM CyclingRow 193 - Cell 2
DNFClement Chevrier (Fra) IAM CyclingRow 194 - Cell 2
DNFMathias Frank (Swi) IAM CyclingRow 195 - Cell 2
DNFJarlinson Pantano (Col) IAM CyclingRow 196 - Cell 2
DNFLawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM CyclingRow 197 - Cell 2
DNSSerghei Tvetcov (Rom) Androni GiocattoliRow 198 - Cell 2
DNSAndrea Fedi (Ita) SoutheastRow 199 - Cell 2

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Born in Ireland to a cycling family and later moved to the Isle of Man, so there was no surprise when I got into the sport. Studied sports journalism at university before going on to do a Masters in sports broadcast. After university I spent three months interning at Eurosport, where I covered the Tour de France. In 2012 I started at Procycling Magazine, before becoming the deputy editor of Procycling Week. I then joined Cyclingnews, in December 2013.

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