In the eyes of many, Isaac del Toro is the favourite for Il Lombardia, but there is a question mark hanging over the Mexican, in the form of a mysterious knee injury.
Del Toro first revealed the issue ahead of Gran Piemonte on Thursday, and though he did go on to ride an aggressive race, he has highlighted the issue on numerous occasions since, both after the race and again on Friday, on the eve of Il Lombardia.
"It's going ok, I think today I've had no real discomfort. I don't know what might happen, but I'm hoping it'll be ok tomorrow," Del Toro said at the teams presentation in Bergamo the evening before the 'race of the falling leaves'.
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"We're dealing with the necessary things: feeling good and finishing off the year well.
Del Toro hasn't been able to pinpoint the specific cause of the pain.
"I don't know why. After the travel I started to have some trouble," he'd said ahead of Gran Piemonte. "I had the same bikes, same shoes, same everything. I don’t know."
On Friday, he revealed that he feels the pain mostly when he's riding in the saddle.
"When I stand up it's not a big deal, it’s when I'm in the saddle. So it kind of helps to attack," he said in a separate interview with CyclingProNet..
Del Toro, who has had an extraordinary third professional season with a Tour de France podium and three WorldTour stage race titles, has a huge opportunity to land a first Monument of his career.
With Tadej Pogačar absent, and having placed fifth behind his all-conquering teammate here 12 months ago, Del Toro faces the likes of Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas but has a clear shot at glory in Como on Saturday – if of course the knee holds up.
"It’s normal we want to finish it off in Il Lombardia, we want to do it better," he said.
"It’s not a secret I had this kind of problem. We need to be high with the mentality and also do super good.
"I don't know, I'm kind of nervous,. But if the body is going good, I’m happy."
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