Alright. Welcome to the start of the final monument of the 2018 season. We're in Italy, the sun is out, we're about to head out for Il Lombardia, and bring the curtain down on the European road season. We'll have live coverage throughout the race, with views from yours truly and Stephen Farrand, who will be joining us a little later today.
Riders are busily signing on at the moment, so now's a good chance to memorise the start list. The race is stacked with stage races and one day specialists - a trait that only Monuments like Lombardia can bring together. Here's the start list.
Ellis Bacon has pulled together this wonderful preview ahead of today's race. Nibali, the defending champion, has just signed on to huge cheers from the home crowds and over by the other side of the sign-on area Stephen Farrand is talking to Gianni Moscon from Team Sky. Let's have a listen to what Mr Moscon has to say.
I feel really confident and I'm looking forward to this race. The shape is good. The world championships were only two weeks ago. I think we have a strong team here and we are well motivated," Moscon said.
"I don't think that the new finale will affect the race. The crucial point is the same and who has the legs is the most important point."
There are some absolutely stacked squads on the startlist this morning. Take a look at Nibali's team for example.
The Izagirre brothers are off to Astana and Pelizotti is going to hang up his wheels this year and move into the team car, but that's still a super little outfit for Bahrain Merida. They have to start among the favourites for the race. Nibali knows how to win, his form is getting better and better, and he won Milan-San Remo earlier in the year. He would love nothing more than to bookend his season with another Classic title.
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 2 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) 3 Jon Izagirre Insausti (Spa) 4 Matej Mohoric (Slo) 5 Antonio Nibali (Ita) 6 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) 7 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita)
Speaking of Nibali - just five minutes before we roll out by the way - he's in the press and talking up a possible move to Team Sky.
Some background for our dear readers who have woken up early for this.... Nibali was set to sign a deal with Bahrain earlier in the summer. It was going to be a contract extension as he already has a deal in place for 2019. Now, that deal was never signed, hence this talk about a possible move for 2020. It seems unlikely however. Team Sky and Nibali were talking back in 2009/2010 when the British team were forming but Brailsford dropped interest as soon as he realised Bradley Wiggins could climb over bridges all of a sudden. Anyway, it looks as though Nibali is putting these comments out there in a bid to get a better contract from Bahrain. Can you really see Team Sky hiring a 34 year old when they already have Froome and Thomas, and young riders coming through? Can you really see Nibali moving to Team Sky, and away from a team where he is still the undisputed number one?
Another strong team for today are FDJ. Pinot is certainly one of the favourites after his win earlier in the week and he's backed up by a motivated and hungry team.
Gaudu has been excellent recently, and in Reichenbach they have depth for the longevity of a race like this. Roy is set to retire this year too, so they'll want to go out with a bang for their veteran rider. Roy has been with FDJ his entire career, and has a reputation as being one of the most loyal and trusted domestiques in the bunch. Interesting fact. He was second in a Tour stage in 2008, which was one by Sylvain Chavanel - also retiring this year. And that was Cofidis' last Tour de France stage win. Chavanel was at Cofidis at the time. That's why it's interesting. I think.
71 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) 72 William Bonnet (Fra) 73 David Gaudu (Fra) 74 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) 75 Sebastien Reichenbach (Swi) 76 Jeremy Roy (Fra) 77 Leo Vincent (Fra)
Ah, Valverde is here too. No doubt another favourite for the race. The world champion took exception to questions from CN last week when he was asked about his past and Operacion Puerto. He labeled those that asked about the case as 'clueless'.
Little did Valverde know that Clueless is an incredible film and comparing anyone to such a hit that stared Alicia Silverstone, Paul Rudd and Brittany Murphy (RIP) should be taken as a compliment. Clueless by the way came out in 1995, just after Valverde's 35th birthday.
Here's the Movistar line-up for today.
111 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) 112 Héctor Carretero (Spa) 113 Jaime Castrillo (Spa) 114 Nelson Oliveira (Por) 115 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) 116 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) 117 Marc Soler (Spa)
A couple ex-pros were on the start line this morning with Contador jumping onto the Trek Segafredo team bus and Joaquim Rodriguez here as well. How Katusha could have done with Rodriguez this year. They signed Kittel but they've never really replaced the Spaniard - who retired a couple of seasons ago but was a threat in virtually every race he entered.
In the race, we've raced through the first 10km of action. Nothing major to report, except that two riders have abandoned. Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) and Loic Vliegen (BMC Racing Team).
No break yet in the race but the WorldTour teams are having to deal with some aggressive moves earlier on, with Israel Academy, Bardiani CSF and Androni Sidermec all trying to set something up. Typically you get quite a large early break in this race before the situation settles down for a few hours.
At the moment it's Quick-Step Floors who are marking and chasing down several moves. The pace remains high as we wait for the elastic to snap and the early move to go clear.
There has been an early fall in the race and Juan Josè Lobato (Nippo Fantini) is out. His race is unfortunately over.
Two groups have now managed to skip clear, and Quick-Step have posted a man in the second group, so this could be the early move of the day. We have two riders, followed by a group of around 6-8. The peloton haven't eased off just yet so it could all come back together in the next few minutes. Just under 20km covered so far.
211km remaining from 241km
The riders in the counter attack are Ballerini, Orsini, Tonelli, Sénéchal, Bonnamour, Restrepo, Storer and Marcato. That's a decent little move with some quality firepower. We've covered almost 30km now with the leaders forming and dropping a couple from their number to create the above group.
Our lead group have an advantage that's approaching a minute. This certainly looks promising, while the chase has gone out of the peloton. This is the point at which the break need to ram home their advantage.
201km remaining from 241km
40km covered and although the break have extended their lead it's been hard going. The gap is only at around 1'20, so the bunch haven't entirely given up. That's mainly because a number of teams have missed the breaks, so they've been ordered to the front to set a fast tempo. It's going to be a really long day for the riders who are already suffering out there.
We're about 15km from the Colle Gallo, the first major ascent of the race. At that point we'll know if the early break has established a healthy enough lead but at the moment they're having to fight for every second out on the road.
Finally, the bunch have eased up enough and allowed the break to increase their advantage. It isn't huge but it's at least start to move out towards five minutes. At the moment the gap is at 3'45 and the leaders are:
Davide Ballerini (Androni Sidermec), Umberto Orsini and Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani CSF), Florian Sénéchal (Quick Step Floors), Franck Bonnamour (Fortuneo Samsic), Jonathan Restrepo (Katusha Alpecin), Michael Storer (Sunweb) and Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates).
Onto the Colle Gallo and the lead is up to 5'30. Back in the bunch it's FDJ and Movistar who are among the teams chasing. I say chasing, they're really just tapping out a nice steady tempo in order to keep the break in check.
There's Valverde, tucked in behind his Movistar teammates, near the front of the peloton. The pace has settled down now, as the leaders push their advantage out to 6 minutes.
There's Valverde, tucked in behind his Movistar teammates, near the front of the peloton. The pace has settled down now, as the leaders push their advantage out to 6 minutes.
The leaders pass the summit and head down the rather technical descent. Movistar then lead the bunch over the climb 5'42 down on the leading eight riders.
On Friday we compiled a list of riders who needed a result in order to save their seasons. Here it is. Quite a few headlines made the cut, with Barguil, Uran, Majka, Cummings and Zakarin included. What do you think?
The pressure from Movistar has reduced the break's advantage to five minutes.
80km remaining from 241km
We've covered 80km so far and the bunch are just holding the break at an even five minutes. We've seen Movistar sit back a little and a few more teams post riders on the front in a bid to keep the break in check.
148km remaining from 241km
A shade under 150km to go and the gap has moved back out to 5'30.
The leaders are working well together with Marcato taking a long pull on the flat. The 34-year-old won Paris Tours back in 2012 and is a respected domestique.
Michael Storer is the youngest in the break at just 21. He came through the ranks as part of Mitchelton Scott's development team but was snapped up by Sunweb at the start of this season. Dumoulin's team have a habit of plucking Australian talent, don't they? Anyway, this is a nice little cameo for Storer today who splits his time between Varese and Perth.
Over in the Tour of Turkey, Quick-Step Floors have taken another win. They're on 71 for the season with Hodeg coming out on top today. Here's our report, and results are soon to follow.
Back to Lombardia and the break have reached the lower slopes of the Colle Brianza. The gap is still holding at around five minutes as we see Nibali drop back for a moment. There's a slight lull in the bunch but that will change as reach the foot of the climb in a few minutes.
We get a brief shot of Adam Yates. Many tipped him for a result in the Italian one-day races but he's not delivered yet. A poor Worlds, and not his best form have seen him tail off but Lombardia is a race that suits him. Mitchelton have form here to, having won the race with Chaves in 2016. They've come here with a formidable team as well.
101 Adam Yates (GBr) 102 Michael Albasini (Swi) 103 Jack Haig (Aus) 104 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) 105 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) 106 Robert Power (Aus) 107 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa)
EF also come with a strong squad, with Woods and Uran leading the line. They've combined well in recent weeks but haven't taken a win in trade team colours. Woods was fourth in the Giro dell'Emilia and the Tre Valli Varesine, so the condition is certainly there.
151 Michael Woods (Can) 152 Matti Breschel (Den) 153 Simon Clarke (Aus) 154 Joe Dombrowski (USA) 155 Daniel Martínez (Col) 156 Sacha Modolo (Ita) 157 Rigoberto Urán (Col)
While some of the riders head back to the team cars to pick up bottles and instructions, why not listen to our latest podcast. It features an exclusive interview with Heinrich Haussler. At times incredibly personal, the Australian talks about leaving his family at the age of 14 and heading to Germany, where he didn't know the language and was rejected by schools. He eventually found his feet, and the rest is history - and also covered in this podcast. Hope you enjoy!
Still can't get over the fact that Quick-Step have won 71 races this season. That number could stretch into the 80s given that we still have several weeks of racing to go. They're similar to High Road in that they don't really invest in GC riders - they found Mas and he's still young - but they don't pay for the likes of Froome or Nibali. Instead they focus on young sprint talent and Classics and corner that market. It's incredible in terms off their results. At one point in September they'd average a win every four days since the start of the year. We mentioned EF earlier, and they're on just six wins for the entire season. That's not a slight on the American team but it puts into context what Quick-Step are doing right now.
Anyway, the break and the bunch are on the descent of the Colle Brianza. The race is gently rolling towards Como and we've not seen any action from the main contenders just yet. A reminder of the riders in the break:
Davide Ballerini (Androni Sidermec), Umberto Orsini and Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani CSF), Florian Sénéchal (Quick Step Floors), Franck Bonnamour (Fortuneo Samsic), Jonathan Restrepo (Katusha Alpecin), Michael Storer (Sunweb) and Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates).
They have just over five minutes over the bunch with Movistar and FDJ sharing the pace setting duties. A few Bahrain riders are near the front too.
CN's Kirsten Frattini spoke to Audrey Cordon about the news of the UCI's plans to introduce a minimum wage in women's cycling.
"It's a big step that we are taking now," Cordon-Ragot told Cyclingnews in an interview at the SportHotel, where the French national team was staying ahead of the 2018 Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
"There is still a long road ahead because we have so many things still to improve in women's cycling, but this is the first step to take, and it is so important."
The push from the peloton has meant that the gap to the break has dropped to 3'55. They never stood a chance, did they?
A reminder, you can find our complete start list, right here. It's interesting that Simon Gerrans is listed. I cant' see him in the field - doesn't mean he's not there - but he had planned on retiring at the Canadian races last month.
There's Valverde again, moving to the front on that new Canyon of his. Want a closer look at the world champion's new bike? Head over to this page and take a look.
It's a solid 7/10 but the blue Movistar Canyons look better. IMO.
116km remaining from 241km
Just under 120km to go in the race and the break is being held at four minutes.
That's it from me for today. I'm off and Susan will be taking over for a short time. Then it's headline act Stephen Farrand for the final few hours. Think Pyramid stage on the Saturday night at Glasto.
Tag-team live report today at Cyclingnews!
We have a pleasant day here, if perhaps not so autumnal. It is 22° at the finish, and we have sun and only a light wind.
They have now reached the day's second climb, the Madonna del Ghisallo.
This climb is a mere bump in the road compared to the upcoming Sormano. it is "only" a 1.9km climb, but, oh, that gradient! It averages out at 15.8% with one section of 25-27%!
We have 100 km still to go and the gap has gone back up. The eight in the break group now have 4:30.
“Lombardia is a hard race to master. I like it because it is a race where you can not hide. I need to love the race to be good,” Thibaut Pinot has told L’Equipe.
It's a stunning day in Lombardy today, with temperatures of 21C and dry roads.
There are lots of falling leaves but little risk for the riders on the technical descents.
The riders face 241km of racing today. The hardest climbs come in the final 90km and so we are about to enter the finale of Il Lombardia.
The first climb is the iconic Madonna del Ghisallo.
It is 8.5km long and climbs up from the shore of Lake Como to the Ghisallo chapel and the cycling museum.
As the speed rises and the early kilometres begin to hurt, Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin) has been dropped from the break.
The move is down to seven riders now but the peloton is closing the gap. It is down to 2:30 now. They could be caught over the top of the Ghisallo or near the Colma di Sormano.
68km remaining from 241km
The Madonna del Ghisallo is considered the patron saint of cyclists and the tiny chapel is packed with bikes, jerseys and memorials of riders who have passed away.
There are also statues of Coppi and the stunning new cycling museum that is well worth a visit.
As the Ghisallo climb starts to bite, Orsini ups the pace and attacks the break.
This is the view at the top of the Ghisallo.
The Movistar team is leading the chase of the break, with three riders on the front.
Their pace is already hurting, with Bob Jungels (Quick Step Floors) distanced. He's clearly no longer on form.
66km remaining from 241km
The Bahrain-Merida team is setting the pace now, with Vincenzo Nibali looking good on the wheels just a few places back.
From the CN blump we can see all the big-name contenders carefully spinning their legs on the climb of the Ghisallo.
They will need their strength for later, for the steep Colma di Sormano and especially the Civiglio climb.
This is the profile of the Ghisallo.
64km remaining from 241km
The break is falling apart with just four riders left up front.
Montaguti (AG2R) has upped the pace and sparked an attack from the peloton.
The big-names contenders are perhaps trying to send riders up the road for later.
61km remaining from 241km
After a flat section, the Ghisallo kicks up again.
Orsini kicks away again and is first to the summit of the Ghisallo.
He gets the cheers as the bells ring out.
Australia's Jack Haig is next over the summit. He has accelerated from the peloton, as the gap comes down fast.
The descent of the Ghisallo leads to the foot of the Colma di Sormano. There is nowhere to hide now.
53km remaining from 241km
The remains of the break are already on the lower slopes of the Sormano.
The four are pushing on at speed but their lead is down to 50 seconds.
This is the Colma di Sormano. It is as hard as it looks.
It is only 1.9km long but has an average gradient of 15%, with some sections at 25/27%.
Haig has been swept up as LottoNL take over. They're setting up a fast pace to the foot of the Muro di Sormano.
They're riding for Roglic.
50km remaining from 241km
Here we go! the break is caught and the race hits the Muro, the Wall of Sormano.
It's gruppo compatto as the gradient kicks up.
Robert Gesink is doing a huge turn for Roglic and Bennett.
Bahrain is lined out behind Lotto, but Valverde is further back and lacking support.
As expected, Roglic pushes on alone. Is he attacking or pacing his effort?
Rogic is riding in the saddle, as other riders are spat out of the back of the peloton.
The Sormano is splitting the peloton behind Roglic.
Nibali is at the front with Pelizzotti, Oinot is there too but Valverde and Bardet are further back.
Bardet seems to be struggling.
The crowds are huge near the summit.
47km remaining from 241km
Wow! Nibali has kicked across to Roglic over the top of the Sormano. Oinot is there too.
Pinot and Nibali pass and drop Roglic to be first to the summit.
Other riders are just behind and grab bidons from their teams.
Valverde is at the back of the group. He has no teammates with him.
Nibali and Pinot want to distance him or at least make him suffer.
Bardet crashes after tangling with a spectator!
Yet again a spectator's camera strap has brought down a rider. The spectators were in the road and not behind the barriers.
43km remaining from 241km
Nibali is leading Pinot down the descent. They lead Roglic by 15 seconds, with other chasers just behind.
42km remaining from 241km
Valverde is trying to lead the chase now. He knows the race is going away from him.
his group is timed at 40 seconds. Roglic is the only rider between then and is at 10 seconds.
The descent is very technical, narrow and twisting. Last year De Plus and Bakelants crashed over the edge near here.
Stay safe guys!
39km remaining from 241km
Roglic joins Nibali and Pinot to create a trio of strong leaders.
It is up to Valverde, Sky and others to chase them now and on the 16km flat roads before the Civiglio.
37km remaining from 241km
There is a rider close to the trio. It's Bernal! Egan Bernal! He's trying to go across the gap to the trio.
This could be the attack that decides this year's Il Lombardia.
Bernal accelerates out of each corner trying to close the 10-second gap to the trio.
It seems that Rigo Uran is also trying to come across on the descent.
As Pinot said the other day, Il Lombardia can be decided on the descents as well as the climbs.
Flat for Moscon!
He has a rear flat on the descent. That could be the end of his race.
It'll be difficult for him to get back on after a wheel change on the descent.
34km remaining from 241km
Roglic is leading the trio down the descent as Pinot fights to get back on the wheel.
Bernal is at 8 seconds, with the Valverde group at 45 seconds.
Bernal goes deep but catches Roglic, Nibali and Pinot.
32km remaining from 241km
Valverde has caught Uran but he's alone and seems desperate.
He starts a solo chase but he lacks team support. HE can only hope that EF duo Uran and Woods help him.
Our tag-team coverage continues. Susan jumping in again to take you the rest of the way, as Steve Farrand races to the finish line.
Small gap from Nibali and Pinot back to Roglic and Bernal. Bernal catches up and Roglic is working hard to get there too.
With the four together again, there is only an 8 second gap back to the Valverde group. 27.8 km to go.
But now they show us the gap is 39 seconds....
It is a large group, with Valverde, about 20 all together.
Descents are dangerous enough as they are, but here we also have alternating wet and dry sections. Let's be safe out there!
Everyone is really flying along here. But the gap between the four leaders and the chase group just keeps getting bigger. With 24 km to go, it is now 48 seconds.
We assume that these four riders will make the win out amongst themselves. But which one will miss the podium?
Nibali's team car pulls up alongside and he takes a bidon.
There is a large block of Bahrain Merida riders in the chase group -- 3 or 4 of them -- and they are helping to keep the gap high.
Roglic drops from teh lead group. Now BErnal struggles to stay with Nibali and Pinot.
Bernal still working hard to be not dropped. But we have lost sight of Roglic. 16.4 km and 39 seconds to the Valverde group.
Valverde is at the end of the chase group. IN fact, he is falling off the back of the group.
The chase group is now about to catch Roglic.
That's it for the World Champion. He loses touch with the group.
15 km to go and Pinot attacks. Naturally Nibali is right there with him.
with 15km to go, it is 20 seconds to Bernal and another 20 seconds to the reduced chase group.
Uran jumps from that group and gives chase to his countryman.
Pinot and Nibali are really hanging side-on-side here. And now Bernal is caught by the chase group.
Uran is back in th group and now Dan Martin attacks. And Pinot takes off!
With 14 km to go, and on a steep section of the climb, Pinot takes off. Nibali cannot follow and seems to realize the dream is over.
PInot has found his wings and keeps going. He already has 20 seconds on Nibali. Martin is putting in a strong attack, too.
Nibali doesn't want to give up without a fight but he just looks to not have much more to give. Behind him, Martin is flying along. Up front, Pinot is doing the same.
Majka has also jumped from the group and has Martin in his sights. With 9.8 km , we have 25 seconds from Pinot to Nibali, 43 seconds to Martin and Majka, who are now together.
Wellens of Lotto Soudal has now caught up with Maijka and Martin.
Pinot looks over his shoulder and is probably very happy to see nobody. 6.2km left.
Nibali seems to have his second wind. He is holding the gap steady at around 30 seconds.
The Monte Olimpino is the last climb of the day and Pinot has tackled it.
The chasing group has now grown to 7 riders. They are only nine seconds behind Nibali so it seems likely they will catch him. with 3.7 km, Pinto has 42 seconds on them all.
First Martin, then Maijka try to get away. "Try" being the key word here.
Only 3 km left for Pinot!
NIbali has now been caught.
He won't give in, though! Somehow he is able to jump and get away!
The final km for Pinot!
He has time to start celebrating, waving to the fans with a broad grin on his face.
And waves his fist in victory as he cross the finish line.
Astonishing to see Nibali take second, and with a large gap over the chase group.
Dylan Teuns won the sprint for third.
A fantastic performance by Pinot. And especially in light of the fact that formerly he had a phobia of high-speed descents. Congratulations to him for overcoming it.
Of course, Pinot has recently shown his good form. Only three days ago he soloed in to win Milano-Torino.
"I'm happy to win," Pinot said on Eurosport. "I'm in one of the best conditions of my career, it's great."
The top ten:
1 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ 5:53:22
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:32
3 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:00:43
4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
5 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
6 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
7 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
9 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:48
10 George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:22
"I gave my best and did everything I could to be on the podium," said Dan Martin, who had to settle for ninth place.
Bernal finished 12th today. What a first season this young rider has had!
Our brief report and brief results can be found here. Of course we will have much much more to come!
Nibali:“I still managed to get this good second place with the grit which is important to me as an athlete. It’s a kind of redemption for all that happened – a good success.”
