Tadej Pogačar is chasing history at Il Lombardia, aiming to win the last Monument Classic of the 2023 season for a third consecutive time.
After his complex wrist fracture at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and then a gruelling Tour de France where he suffered a second defeat to Jonas Vingegaard, Pogačar wants to show he is back to his best, end his season on a high, and help UAE Team Emirates secure the number one spot in the UCI team rankings.
"Il Lombardia always motivates me. It has a special place in my heart," Pogačar told Cyclingnews and La Gazzetta dello Sport in an exclusive interview on the eve of the race.
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He appeared relaxed as ever but ready for a final hard day in the saddle.
"There are other big races but Il Lombardia is special. It's a monument too, it's long and super hard, you really need to be the best to win," he explained. "To try to win a third consecutive time will be tough but it'd be special.
"I'd love to finish the season on a high with victory at Il Lombardia."
Plenty of riders have won back-to-back editions of Il Lombardia but only Alfredo Binda won three between 1925 and 1927 and Fausto Coppi won four times between 1946 and 1949. A hat trick of Classics is much more difficult in the modern era, with Moreno Argentin the last to win three editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège between 1985 and 1987.
Pogačar won in 2021 in Bergamo and in Como in 2022, as the race route alternates between the Lombardy cities and includes different climbs.
The famous Madonna del Ghisallo climb, with the cyclist chapel and shrine at the top, is the first of seven major climbs during this year's 238km race.
The penultimate Passo di Ganda will surely be the decisive climb, just as it was in 2021. Pogačar attacked alone on the 9.2km, 7.1% climb. He was joined by Bergamo local Fausto Masnada but then beat him in the sprint to the line after they rode through the shouting tifosi on the Colle Aperto last climb up to Bergamo Alto. This year the Colle Aperto will also host the Curva Pinot as the French rider's fans give him a rousing farewell.
"The memories of my first Il Lombardia win came back nicely when we did the recon ride," Pogačar explained.
"I can remember the first time I won and crossed the finish line in Bergamo, I was overjoyed, it was out of this world to win it.
"Nibali attacked on the Ganda climb, I followed and then there was nobody else on my wheel, so it was a great opportunity to go solo, then Masnada came across. It was a pretty cool win."
Pogačar knows how to win on the road from Como to Bergamo but remains cautious.
"The Bergamo route is more of a Classic race, it's long and the last two climbs are longer too. You need 250km in your legs and in your head," he warned.
Confident of his form
Pogačar has only raced four times since the World Championships in early August, while many of his rivals have recently completed and impressed at the Tour de France, including Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Primož Roglič, who is riding his last race for Jumbo-Visma.
Yet he is confident of his form, despite Roglič distancing him to win the Giro dell'Emilia last Saturday in the tough San Luca climb overlooking Bologna.
"I had a good rest after the Tour de France. I needed it," Pogačar said.
"As I said in the race, I was 'f*cked, even more so after also doing the World Championships. I needed a break to recover. I took things slowly but got my motivation and freshness back, so it seems perfect for me. I didn't do the Vuelta but I don't think I could be much stronger now."
The final Il Lombardia start list is packed with talented riders who can handle hard climbs and aggressive races. Pogačar wears dossard number one, with Roglič perhaps his biggest threat, followed by Evenepoel, Enric Mas (Movistar), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Ben O'Connor (AG2R-Citroën), Carlos Rodriguez and Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula). Pogačar has the support of Adam Yates, Rafal Majka, Davide Formolo and Marc Hirschi.
Pogačar rightly seems most concerned about Roglič.
"Primož can also go from a long way out but he's won a lot of races in the last few hundred metres too. He's a big threat," Pogačar says of his fellow Slovenian.
"He's perhaps races more conservative, while Remco and I ride more on instinct but at Il Lombardia, he could also attack with 80 km to go.
"He's clearly in great shape but I think I'm in a little bit better form or about the same. I feel good on the bike and I have good legs. Il Lombardia should suit me even better than the other races like Emilia or Tre Valli Varesine because they're longer and harder."
"It's hard to make the difference on the Bergamo course, so you need to break open the race earlier and then see what happens on the last climb up to Bergamo and then at the finish, it's about whoever has the legs left there.
"We'll see who that is on Saturday."
