The 2023 road cycling season may be drawing to a close but Tadej Pogačar and Wout van Aert are adding more races to their autumn calendar as the pair head to Italy in the coming weeks.
While spring is known for the cobbled Classics in Belgium and northern France, late September and October are known for the run of hilly Italian Classics, headlined by Il Lombardia on October 7.
Pogačar's season will culminate in an attempt to win the year's final Monument for the third year in a row, with the Giro dell'Emilia (September 30) featuring on his calendar in the lead-up to the race and Tre Valli Varesine (October 10) – the same trio he finished second, first and first at in 2022.
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This time around, he's adding a debut at the Coppa Sabatini (September 14) to his schedule, race organisers confirmed to SpazioCiclismo.
"We have reached an agreement with UAE Team Emirates," Luca Di Sandro, president of organisers the Pecciolese Cycling Union, said. "We are pleased and proud to have a champion of Tadej Pogačar's stature at the start of the 71st edition of the Coppa Sabatini. We thank the athlete and UAE Team Emirates."
Van Aert, meanwhile, is targeting both the road race and time trial at the UEC European Championships in Drenthe (September 20 and 24), as well as the UCI Gravel World Championships in Tuscany (October 7) to close out his road campaign.
He'll be racing the Super 8 Classic (September 16) in the lead-up to the first of those goals but has also added a handful of Italian races to his schedule ahead of the Gravel Worlds.
Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws at the conclusion of the Tour of Britain, which he won on Sunday, Van Aert confirmed that he would be racing the Coppa Bernocchi (October 2) and Gran Piemonte (October 5) before making his debut at the Gravel Worlds, which this year is held for the second time.
"The coming weeks will be busy," he said. "I ride the Super 8 Classic, the TT and road race at the European Championships, then Coppa Bernocchi and Gran Piemonte and the Gravel Worlds. I still want to end the season on a good note."
