Gilbert repeat victor of Giro di Lombardia
Belgian solos to victory in Como
Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) reaffirmed his immense talent for the toughest classics in cycling by taking his second successive victory at the Tour of Lombardy.
Gilbert looked the strongest rider throughout the new finale of the race, handling the heavy rain and cold conditions far better than any of his rivals.
After putting all his rivals to the sword in the final hour of the race, he dropped Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) over the top of the final San Fermo di Battaglia climb to win the final classic of the year alone. He waved and smiled as he crossed the finish line, savouring his second consecutive victory on the shores of Lake Como.
"This year it was a lot more difficult to win and the weather made it even worse,” Gilbert said after lifting the winner's trophy.
"This race is really hard to win and I had to go deep. We had to make huge efforts in the finale and for a long time there was a head wind. It was 45 minutes at 100 percent."
Scarponi finished 12 seconds later but it seemed much more, such was the superiority of Gilbert. He was rightly satisfied with second after trying his hardest to take on Gilbert. Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne) was a surprise third at 55 seconds, proving he is also one of the hard men of the peloton.
195 starters, only 34 finishers
195 riders rolled out of Milan, happy to get the last race of the season underway but only 34 made it to the finish on Como. The riders crossed the line alone or in small groups, with the pain of racing in the cold and wet for most of the 260km, carved deep in their faces.
Gilbert was the only one smiling. He was patently the most on-form man in the race and his win was born as much of his strength of mind as the strength in his legs.
As usual the early action fast and furious, with the early break consisting of six riders: Tony Gallopin (Cofidis), Gianluca Mirenda (ISD-Neri), Diego Caccia (ISD-Neri), Mauro Da Dalto (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Kjeil Carlström (Team Sky) and Michael Albasini (HTC-Columbia).
They went clear after 15km and opened a seven-minute lead but Gilbert's Omega Pharma-Lotto team worked solidly to keep them in check during the long circuit of Lake Como.
The Belgian team has been criticised for its poor results in the past but the riders always raise their game when Gilbert is at his best and they stoically whittled down the gap before also shaking out the group of favourites; first on the Madonna del Ghisallo climb up from the lake shore and then on the new Colma di Sormano climb.
Italian national champion Giovanni Visconti (ISD-Neri) and Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) went away from the bunch on the Ghisallo and got across to the remnants of the break. Albasini was clear alone but the Sormano climb was long and hard and reshuffled the race.
Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) surged across to the front group and then dropped the others but his move was far too early and far too ambitious.
The real race began on the treacherous descent of the Sormano. Gilbert went to the front in order to negate the threat from Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) and show he was in control.
The twisting descent split the front group into a long broken line of riders, with Gilbert leading Nibali, Lastras and Haimar Zubeldia (RadioShack).
When Nibali crashed on a hairpin corner, landing on his chest and looking stunned and defeated, Gilbert accelerated to make sure he would not get back on. It was perhaps a key moment of the race, making victory much simpler for Gilbert.
The rest of the descent and the fast run-in to Como turned into a pursuit match as Gilbert drove on the front. Scarponi emerged as the best chaser and managed to get across to Gilbert after a long, solo effort. He was the only one to make it but would pay for it later, while the likes of Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) formed the first chase group.
The two rode shoulder-to-shoulder most of the way up the climb, even touching as they fought the gradient and tried to handle the rough roads. However, Gilbert’s expression was one of supreme control and smooth pedalling backed by immense strength.
After eyeing up his prey, Gilbert seemed to switch to the big chain ring and that was enough to distance Scarponi, who also had a brief gear problem. The gap was made and the race was over.
Gilbert wisely took no chances on the descent into Como but was in total control and won by 12 seconds ahead of Scarponi, while Pablo Lastras (Caisse d’Epargne) clipped off the front of the Nibali group to take third. Behind, Fuglsang out-sprinted the Italian for fourth place, and a second successive season ended with success for Gilbert and without an Italian classics victory.
1 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 6:46:32 |
2 | Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | 0:00:12 |
3 | Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | 0:00:55 |
4 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank | 0:01:08 |
5 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:01:12 |
7 | Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:02:07 |
8 | Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:03:01 |
9 | Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step | 0:03:25 |
10 | Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha | 0:03:50 |
11 | Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:04:24 |
12 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne | 0:05:13 |
13 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step | 0:05:32 |
15 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram | 0:05:52 |
16 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:06:00 |
17 | Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Acqua & Sapone | 0:06:10 |
18 | Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:06:41 |
23 | Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | 0:08:23 |
24 | Serge Pauwels (Bel) Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:09:38 |
25 | José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Team Radioshack | 0:09:52 |
26 | Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:11:50 |
27 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | 0:12:30 |
28 | Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli | 0:12:42 |
29 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:12:44 |
30 | Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana | 0:12:46 |
31 | Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin - Transitions | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram | 0:14:34 |
33 | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team | 0:20:39 |
34 | Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Team HTC - Columbia | 0:21:35 |
DNF | Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christophe Brandt (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paolo Ciavatta (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francesco Di Paolo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Proni (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Lelay (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 50 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Bertolini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 52 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luca Solari (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 53 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 54 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Damiano Margutti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Fabrice Piemontesi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | Row 56 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana | Row 60 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Astana | Row 61 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Astana | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Astana | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team | Row 65 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chris Butler (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 66 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Karsten Kroon (Ned) BMC Racing Team | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Luis Pasamontes Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col) Caisse d'Epargne | Row 76 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 77 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 78 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joaquin Novoa Menedez (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 80 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Oscar Pujol Munoz (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 82 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 83 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam | Row 84 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Emanuele Sella (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 85 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniele Ratto (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 86 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Enrico Peruffo (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 87 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastien Fournet Fayard (Fra) Carmiooro NGC | Row 88 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Aristide Ratti (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 89 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francesco Tizza (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrea Piechele (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 91 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Antonio Quadranti (Ita) Carmiooro NGC | Row 92 - Cell 2 |
DNF | David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 93 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 94 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 95 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 96 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 97 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | Row 98 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Filippo Savini (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michele Gaia (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Federico Canuti (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marco Frapporti (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Yoann Offredo (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 117 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anthony Roux (Fra) Française Des Jeux | Row 118 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Transitions | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Timothy Duggan (USA) Garmin - Transitions | Row 120 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions | Row 121 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Transitions | Row 122 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Christian Meier (Can) Garmin - Transitions | Row 123 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Transitions | Row 124 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Transitions | Row 125 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) ISD - Neri | Row 126 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) ISD - Neri | Row 127 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) ISD - Neri | Row 128 - Cell 2 |
DNF | G. Luca Mirenda (Ita) ISD - Neri | Row 129 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Diego Caccia (Ita) ISD - Neri | Row 130 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) ISD - Neri | Row 131 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Davide Ricci Bitti (Ita) ISD - Neri | Row 132 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) ISD - Neri | Row 133 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 134 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Enrico Magazzini (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 135 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 136 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 137 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 138 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 139 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini | Row 140 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 141 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 142 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 143 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 144 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 145 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo | Row 146 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step | Row 147 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step | Row 148 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marco Velo (Ita) Quick Step | Row 149 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step | Row 150 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Quick Step | Row 151 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step | Row 152 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack | Row 153 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matthew Busche (USA) Team Radioshack | Row 154 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team Radioshack | Row 155 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Grégory Rast (Swi) Team Radioshack | Row 156 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Ivan Rovny (Rus) Team Radioshack | Row 157 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team Radioshack | Row 158 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank | Row 159 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Mauricio Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank | Row 160 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank | Row 161 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank | Row 162 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank | Row 163 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank | Row 164 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank | Row 165 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team | Row 166 - Cell 2 |
DNF | John-Lee Augustyn (RSA) Sky Professional Cycling Team | Row 167 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team | Row 168 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dario David Cioni (Ita) Sky Professional Cycling Team | Row 169 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Stephen Cummings (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team | Row 170 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kjell Carlström (Fin) Sky Professional Cycling Team | Row 171 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Peter Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 172 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Martin Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 173 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 174 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 175 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Adam Hansen (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 176 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Michael Albasini (Swi) Team HTC - Columbia | Row 177 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha | Row 178 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha | Row 179 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 180 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 181 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 182 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Milram | Row 183 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram | Row 184 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Wim De Vocht (Bel) Team Milram | Row 185 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram | Row 186 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram | Row 187 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram | Row 188 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank | Row 189 - Cell 2 |
DNF | André Steensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 190 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Chris Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 191 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank | Row 192 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 193 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank | Row 194 - Cell 2 |
DNF | Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank | Row 195 - Cell 2 |
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