Gilbert triumphs in Lombardia
Belgian wins first Monument, claims fourth straight post-Worlds victory
Showing sensational end of season form, Belgian one-day specialist Philippe Gilbert took his fourth consecutive victory when he won the Giro di Lombardia in Como. The Silence-Lotto rider clipped towards the top of the final climb of the day and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was the only rider who was able to bridge across.
The duo joined forces going over the top of the San Fermo Della Battaglia climb and worked well over the remaining 5.7 kilometres of racing. They had approximately a 10-second lead over the other race favourites, hurtling down the serpentine descent towards the finish and preserving their advantage.
Gilbert led inside the final kilometre and gradually wound up the sprint. Olympic road champion Sanchez sat behind and came back at his rival all the way to the line, but Gilbert still had half a bike length lead at the finish and added the Giro di Lombardia to his recent wins in the Coppa Sabatini, Paris-Tours and the Giro del Piemonte.
"With this condition i can do it all, sprint, climbs... I am very strong now," said Gilbert. "I am very happy. A lot of people say I don't win big races, but i proved them wrong.
"Sanchez and I spoke two to three kilometres from the finish and we said we'd each work 100 percent and may the best man win. Approaching the sprint I knew he would stay on my wheel, but I was confident after the last race.
"When you're strong, you have a good team and you do not make any mistakes, normally you win. That's what happened today," added Gilbert.
Russian rider Alexandr Kolobnev (Saxo Bank) won the sprint behind for third place seven seconds later, edging out Luca Paolini (Acqua & Sapone), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil), Robert Gesink (Rabobank), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) and Dan Martin (Garmin Slipstream).
"I was feeling strong today but in the exact moment where Gilbert launched his attack I just couldn't follow his pace," said Kolobnev, silver medalist at this year's world road championships. "At the finish line, [teammate] Jakob [Fuglsang] worked hard to put me in the right position and I felt strong in the sprint. I am very pleased with the result and it sure is a good way to finish the season."
The end of season Classic saw Sergey Klimov (Katusha), Reinier Honig (Vacansoleil), Marco Velo (Quick Step) and Nicolas Roche (AG2R La Mondiale) go clear early on. This quartet had a lead of over seven minutes with 130 kilometres left. Roche then pressed on ahead and was solo on the Ghisallo climb, 50 kilometres from the finish, before being reeled in by a large group of chasers.
Vacansoleil’s Johnny Hoogerland then surged clear on the Ghisallo climb and was joined after the top by his teammate Matteo Carrara, Mauro Santambrogio (Lampre), Dries Devenyns (Quick Step) and Dan Martin (Garmin-Slipstream). Gustav Larsson (Saxo Bank) also got across.
The Civiglio climb saw attacks in both the break and what was left of the bunch, and Santambrogio and Larsson were alone at the front on the descent. World champion Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) had tried to get clear on the way up but was marked by the other favourites, including defending champion Damiano Cunego (Lampre).
The leading duo persisted and received the reinforcement of Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) before the start of the final climb, the San Fermo Della Battaglia. Vino drove the pace and was later joined by Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank), but these were all caught by the favourites. Evans did most of the work in the lower part of the climb and Gilbert profited from his teammate's efforts, surging clear close to the summit, combining with Sanchez, and setting himself up for the biggest win of his career.
1 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Silence - Lotto | 5:43:45 |
2 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:07 |
4 | Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | 0:00:08 |
5 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Fuji-Servetto | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Christopher Horner (USA) Astana | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | 0:00:10 |
16 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:15 |
17 | Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | 0:00:44 |
18 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step | 0:00:46 |
19 | Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Liquigas | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Chris Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Alberto Fernandez De La Puebla Ramos (Spa) Fuji-Servetto | 0:00:58 |
25 | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step | 0:01:15 |
26 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:33 |
28 | Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Oscar Pujol Munoz (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam | 0:01:55 |
31 | Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:02:01 |
32 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne | 0:02:08 |
39 | Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam | 0:02:28 |
41 | David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Fuji-Servetto | 0:02:34 |
42 | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:02:53 |
44 | Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Craig Lewis (USA) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quick Step | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
51 | Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Liquigas | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
52 | Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
54 | Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
55 | Daniel Fleeman (GBr) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
56 | Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
58 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Massimo Codol (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
62 | Francesco Failli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
63 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
67 | Eros Capecchi (Ita) Fuji-Servetto | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
68 | Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step | 0:03:01 |
69 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) ISD | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank | 0:03:09 |
71 | Javier Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:04:04 |
72 | Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Sven Renders (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Nikita Eskov (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Johann Tschopp (Swi) BBox Bouygues Telecom | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
78 | Michael Barry (Can) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
79 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
80 | Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas | 0:06:02 |
81 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
82 | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
84 | Ruslan Podgornyy (Ukr) ISD | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
85 | Morris Possoni (Ita) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
86 | Christian Meier (Can) Garmin - Slipstream | 0:06:19 |
87 | Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia - HTC | 0:06:52 |
88 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
89 | Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
90 | Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) ISD | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
91 | Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | 0:08:00 |
92 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
93 | Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
94 | Serguei Klimov (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
95 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
96 | Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
97 | Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
98 | Fabrice Piemontesi (Ita) Fuji-Servetto | 0:11:18 |
99 | G. Luca Mirenda (Ita) ISD | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
100 | Christophe Brandt (Bel) Silence - Lotto | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
101 | Gerben Löwik (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
103 | Fabio Taborre (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Maryan Hary (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
106 | Jean-Eudes Demaret (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Reinier Honig (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Silence - Lotto | 0:16:17 |
109 | Geert Steurs (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
111 | Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
113 | Marco Velo (Ita) Quick Step | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
114 | Alexandre Usov (Blr) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Vitaliy Kondrut (Ukr) ISD | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Huub Duyn (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
117 | Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram | 0:17:10 |
118 | Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
119 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) BBox Bouygues Telecom | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
120 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team | 0:17:20 |
DNF | Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Enrico Magazzini (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luca Pierfelici (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Valeriy Dmitriyev (Kaz) Astana | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bolat Raimbekov (Kaz) Astana | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Guillaume Le Floch (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) BBox Bouygues Telecom | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joaquin Novoa Menedez (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rémy Di Gregorio (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aurelien Duval (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française Des Jeux | Row 151 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paolo Bailetti (Ita) Fuji-Servetto | Row 152 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrea Tonti (Ita) Fuji-Servetto | Row 153 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Fuji-Servetto | Row 154 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Timothy Duggan (USA) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 155 - Cell 2 |
DNF | William Frischkorn (USA) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 156 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 157 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kilian Patour (Fra) Garmin - Slipstream | Row 158 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Santo Anza (Ita) ISD | Row 159 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Proni (Ita) ISD | Row 160 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Simon Clarke (Aus) ISD | Row 161 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas | Row 162 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Davide Malacarne (Ita) Quick Step | Row 163 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank | Row 164 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank | Row 165 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank | Row 166 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francesco Ginanni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 167 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 168 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luca Celli (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 169 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luca Solari (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli | Row 170 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Silence - Lotto | Row 171 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence - Lotto | Row 172 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Charles Wegelius (GBr) Silence - Lotto | Row 173 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - HTC | Row 174 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram | Row 175 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthias Russ (Ger) Team Milram | Row 176 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Peter Velits (Svk) Team Milram | Row 177 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram | Row 178 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 179 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank | Row 180 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank | Row 181 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 182 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 183 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 184 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Johan Coenen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 185 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tom Criel (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | Row 186 - Cell 2 |
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