Gilbert triumphs in Lombardia

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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.