Buongiorno! Early start, and that's because we're well into October, and we've got 240 kilometres to fit in before the fading of the light. It must be Lombardia, the final Monument of the 2021 season, back in its rightful place. We've got hills, we've got lakes, we've got falling leaves, we've got a stellar start list, and we've got full live coverage from start to finish.
Buongiorno da Como! 🍂#ILombardia pic.twitter.com/jBepGDJ5wZOctober 9, 2021
We're in Como this morning for the start of the 115th edition of Il Lombardia, and that means we're heading to Bergamo. Nowadays the race tends to alternate direction between the two locations but we're heading back this way for the first time since Esteban Chaves claimed Colombia's first Monument victory back in 2016.
Before we get going, now's the time to be reading Barry Ryan's Il Lombardia preview.
Barry's preview draws on the strength of the start list and it's worth name-checking a few of today's contenders, just to whet the apetite.
Alaphilippe and Roglic have just crossed paths at sign-on
The riders are all gathered on the start line and we're not far away now.
We're off. The riders are rolling out of Como's old town. Plenty of arm warmers and gilets on this nippy autumn morning.
Before we get going, a bit more about today's route. It doesn't look quite as intimidating as recent Como-bound editions, but it does still pack in over 4500 metres of elevation gain. We're still paying a visit to Madonna del Ghisallo, but very early on, while the Roncola climb after 100km will act as an introduction to the Bergamo hills.
We're still in the neutral zone here.
Stephen Farrand has more on the route in this piece, and he's predicting fireworks.
Here we go!
No immediate attacks
Mauro Schmid (Qhubeka-NextHash) accelerates but it's a cagey start here.
Victor Campenaerts is the next to accelerate as Qhubeka look keen to get someone away.
Schmid goes again and this time he had a Trek rider for company.
The move is dragged back, a little bizarrely, by Campenaerts, who continues through.
And now a third Qhubeka rider pings out. It's Andreas Stokbro and he's alone.
The young Dane has a big gap and now come some counter-attacks.
Fabio Felline (Astana) nips across to Stokbro.
The pair have a small lead as things settle down in the bunch.
Toms Skujins (Trek-Segafredo) accelerates from behind as we head up a hill into the town of Cantu.
Things come back together and now Gianluca Brambilla (Trek) attacks.
Felline goes again now, as Bardiani send a rider to mark it and more ping out of the bunch.
Brambilla hits another kicker and his advantage is cancelled out as more accelerations come
A group of around 20 has split off the front here, but it doesn't look like it'll go clear.
The gap is indeed closed on that large breakaway and the bunch continues as one.
It's a rolling opening 30km and our breakaway selection may only come once we hit the Madonna del Ghisallo.
Another Qhubeka rider tries to drive this race open but he misjudges a corner and that comes to an end.
Campenaerts it was, and Campenaerts it is who tries again now.
Kristian Sbaragli (Alpecin-Fenix), still in arm and knee warmers, is the next to attack.
Sbaragli is joined by three riders but there's a reaction behind.
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier is the latest Trek rider to give it a nudge.
Daniel Pearson (Vini Zabu) accelerates on the latest false flat. Plenty of keen riders on the wheel but no gap.
214km to go
Campenaerts goes again as a five-rider group goes clear.
The riders with Campenaerts are: Chris Juul-Jensen, Edoardo Zardini (Vini-Zabu), Floris De Tier (Alpecin-Fenix), and Diego Camargo (EF-Nippo).
Two riders bridge across but it's irrelevant as the whole races comes back together once more.
Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty) attacks as we reach Asso ahead of the start of the climb.
Bakelants has drawn out a decent-looking group. Eight riders go after him and there's a big gap already
We're climbing Madonna del Ghisallo from the less steep side today, but we're still passing the iconic chapel at the top, where the fans should be out in force.
The climb is ramping up now and this is surely where we'll get a breakaway group actually going clear.
Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) is on the move behind this nascent breakaway group.
Campenaerts launches a counter-attack now. He's determined to be in the break today. He's with Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and they're trying to bridge across to that nine-man group.
And now the road is blocked behind. Finally it looks like the powers that be in the peloton are letting this go.
As I say that, an AG2R rider breaks through the blocked road and sets things off again.
The riders up the road at the moment are: Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Domen Novak (Bahrain Victorious), Chris Hamilton (DSM), Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Trek-Segafredo), Thomas Champion (Cofidis), Andrea Garosio (Bardiani-CSF), Davide Orrico (Vini-Zabu), Mattia Bais (Androni-Giocattoli).
The gap is 40 seconds as the AG2R move is brought under control
Jumbo, QuickStep, Ineos all have riders in the front row of the peloton, on policing duties.
203km to go
And that's that. Riders stop for nature breaks in the peloton and that's a sure sign that this is a done deal and the breakaway is indeed away.
The breakaway comes to the top of the climb now.
Garosio accelerates as they pass the chapel at the top.
He's joined by Orrico and the pair start the descent in the lead.
198km to go
A short descent now into Bellagio on the shores of Lake Como and then we've got a sustained flat section before the real climbing begins.
Here's our pick of the favourites for today
The gap reaches three minutes after the descent.
A reminder of the composition of today's breakaway:
Crash for Jaakko Hanninen (AG2R).
Israel Start-Up Nation have taken responsibility for chasing on these early lakeside roads. They have 2014 winner Dan Martin making his final appearance today, as well as four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome making his debut, but their real leader is Michael Woods.
Hanninen has been forced to abandon. He was sitting upright on the road but didn't look in a good way.
165km to go
Here's a shot of our breakaway
Israel, Jumbo, and QuickStep have representatives at the head of the peloton but they're happy to let the gap rise to 5:25.
148km to go
The gap rises out beyond six minutes now and Deceuninck-QuickStep decide to burn the Pieter Serry match. Ineos run them close but the Belgian team surely have the strongest squad here, with Alaphilippe, Evenepoel, and Almeida all potential winners. Serry is the early-worker but Fausto Masnada has shown his strong form at Coppa Bernocchi and Milano-Torino, while Andrea Bagioli and Dries Devenyns add yet more climbing talent.
The 10-man breakaway hit the Roncola climb with a lead of 6:25.
There's a bit of an acceleration in the bunch as they themselves approach the climb. We've almost got mini lead-out trains.
This is surely too far out to do anything, but everyone wants to be in a good position.
That injection of pace in the peloton brought the gap down to below six minutes and they're continuing to set a solid tempo on the climb itself.
The breakaway are now on the upper section and all sticking together still.
Koen Bouwman is the rider Jumbo-Visma have tasked with setting a brisk pace up the Roncola.
138km to go
It's a bit of a false crest, as the road continues to rise for a a few kilometres beyond the officially designated summit.
Bouwman is setting a really strong rhythm in the bunch. It's not doing any big damage but it's strung out and the gap to the breakaway is falling consistently now.
Bouwman drags this long peloton to the top of Roncola and he has reduced the gap to the breakaway to 4:40, so that's a good 90 seconds chipped off on that ascent.
A few riders have been dropped from the peloton on the climb. Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) appears to be one of them.
Here's a lake shot to add to the collection
The peloton come to the top of this second crest, musettes are grabbed, and they ready themselves for the descent.
The breakaway are already on it and it's Wellens who looks keen to press on.
Another AG2R crash and it's Benoit Cosnefroy
The Frenchman looks dazed and bashed up and now he sits down against the wall he appears to have just crashed into. His right shoulder is banged up and this looks like the end of his day.
Orrico has joined Wellens out front and they've got a gap over the rest of the break as the descent continues.
Serry leads the peloton down at 4:20
The road flattens out and Wellens and Orrico are rejoined by the rest of the break.
The peloton has split on this sinuous descent. It should stitch back together soon but it's an early indication of how important descending could be in the outcome of this race.
#ILombardia - Landa's record in Italian end of season classicsDNFDNF63rdDNF21st58thDNF12thDNF29th33rdDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNFDNF#LFRLiveOctober 9, 2021
113km to go
The peloton is split in two as they now hit the climb. EF-Nippo are trying to finish the job of closing the gap.
The road is heading back uphill and so Bouwman returns to the front.
The dropped peloton stitches back on now.
The average speed after three hours stands at 40.370kph
The gap between the 10-man breakaway and the peloton continues to fall on the Berbenno climb. It's down to 3:40 now.
Some transfer-related news today surrounding Deceuninck-QuickStep. The deal for Mark Cavendish is still not done, but a younger British rider, Ethan Vernon, appears set to turn professional at the Belgian team next year. Full story here.
Campenaerts accelerates as the break reach the top of the climb.
Bouwman continues to lead the peloton all the way up.
A sighting of Chris Froome at the front of the bunch, who seems to be in quietly decent shape now at the end of a tough season. We spoke to him yesterday for an update on his plans.
The bunch are over the top of the climb and again it's Serry who takes control of the descent.
We're descending now, then we've got a section of false flat ahead of the Dossena climb, where this edition of Il Lombardia starts to get serious.
100km to go
Jumbo-Visma, Deceuninck-QuickStep, and Israel Start-Up Nation are the only teams who have done any work in the peloton today.
Simon Yates, or Simon Philip Yates as he is known in Italy, looks relaxed at the very back of the peloton, which is where he likes to be. He leads BikeExchange here after placing fourth at the recent Cro Race, but he hasn't raced a great deal since doing the Giro and Tour. Always a threat, though.
Evenepoel and Woods are also at the back at the moment but they'll need to be up nearer the front once we start this next climb.
The gap to the break nudges out to four minutes on the approach to Dossena.
Evenepoel is now shepherded back towards the front as QuickStep set up with numbers, replacing Eolo-Kometa, who had briefly threatened to take the reins.
88km to go
In fact, here's a visual representation. The Dossena ends at 11km on this graphic and is pretty much immediately followed by the haul to Zambla Alta, which is treated as a separate climb in the roadbook.
Another big peloton acceleration on the approach to the climb.
The gap drops to three minutes again as a strong pace continues onto the climb.
Eddie Dunbar (Ineos) attacks
QuickStep, UAE, and Jumbo send riders to mark the Irishman
The Dunbar move is brought back but Pavel Sivakov goes now for Ineos in a move with Ben Tulett (Alpecin-Fenix).
George Bennett jumps on the move for Jumbo, and Masnada also tracks it for QuickStep. It's a quartet at the moment and it's going clear.
Reactions behind as an EF-Nippo rider tries to jump across, and manages it. It's Neilson Powless! Strong group, this.
Powless is in the process of becoming a one-day rider. He won San Sebastian and had a brilliant ride at Worlds recently. I snuck my way into the teams paddock at Worlds to speak to him and you can read the story here if you like.
UAE aren't happy with this strong five-man move and are chasing it down through Hirschi.
Meanwhile, out front, Bakelants has had a pop.
Sivakov, Tulett, Bennett, Masnada, and Powless are brought back and Hirschi continues to set the tempo as the peloton really begins to reduce in number.
Tao Geoghegan Hart attacks now! Ineos are trying to ride an open race today.
No one jumps with the former Giro winner but instead Devenyns sets a chasing tempo.
81.5km to go
And now Garosio attacks, and the break is starting to break up.
Orrico, Wellens, Campenaerts, and Champion lose contact
Geoghegan Hart presses on with his effort but he's just dangling out front at the moment.
Geoghegan Hart is reabsorbed into the bunch.
Sam Oomen takes up pace-setting duties for Jumbo-Visma.
And Devenyns continues to chip in.
Alaphilippe tucks in behind Devenyns and the world champ has Evenepoel on his wheel.
The lead group of Hamilton, Garosio, Novak, Bakelants, Ghebreigzabhier, and Bais enter the final kilometre of the initial Dossena climb. They have two minutes on the bunch.
Hamilton just shoved an empty bidon into a large green recycling bin at the side of the road on this climb, which is probably being clipped and giffed up as we speak by cycling's social media influencers.
Another crash involving an AG2R rider. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain) and Edward Ravasi (Eolo) are also down but look ok to continue.
Devenyns continues to set the tempo. This sort of thing has traditionally been associated with Alaphilippe attacks but it's not a fast pace at the moment.
Second wind for Orrico. He has caught and passed Wellens and Campenaerts.
That didn't take long
Powless attacks!
The American accelerates again on a flatter section beyond the Dossena summit, but a gaggle of QuickSteppers are quickly on his wheel.
The breakaway begin the official Zambla Alta climb. It's 9.5km long but only averages 3.5 per cent.
Powless goes again!
This looks like a more sustained attack and he flies past Wellens and Campenaerts.
Teuns was just getting back on but is now in trouble as the bunch splits under this pressure.
Masnada goes after Powless and now there's a little lull.
Simon Yates dropped
Sivakov raises the pace for Ineos and starts to draw a group clear but Simon Yates won't be winning this bike race as he slides out the back door.
Hirschi, Masnada, Bardet, and Vingegaard go clear with Sivakov.
Another strong move, this, and who's going to reel it in?
Bahrain think about it but Teuns is still nowhere near the front of the main group. More riders set off in counter-attack instead.
Movistar send a rider to chase as the road dips downhill briefly.
The Sivakov group is only 35 seconds down on the breakaway now.
The bunch has split on that downhill section but the groups are close together and now the Sivakov group is caught by the rest of the favourites.
A big lull as the peloton bunches back up.
Simon Yates and a few others regain contact but the omens aren't good for anyone who lost contact there.
Still out front are Hamilton, Bakelants, Novak, Ghebreigzabhier, Bais, Garosio. They have stretched their lead back out to 50 seconds as they hit the steeper upper reaches of the Zambla Alta climb.
Still a large peloton, with more than 60 in there. There was hope for early fireworks but this isn't proving the most selective edition of Il Lombardia so far. It should be a different story when we hit the Passo di Ganda.
Bakelants dropped at the top of the Zambla Alta as the break head with a lead of 30 seconds.
Acceleration from QuickStep but this is about positioning for the descent.
Now for a 15km descent and the QuickStep riders are shoving paper down their jerseys to fend off the chilly breeze.
Crash. An Astana rider slides out from about seventh position in that bunch.
It looks like a UAE rider was held up there as well.
It's Bagioli going full whack down this descent for QuickStep. He almost misjudged that corner where the Astana rider went down.
The breakaway are just 17 seconds clear now
Bagioli, Masnada, and Alaphilippe are bombing down here.
Lutsenko and Formolo were the riders who crashed.
Bakelants is back with the break, but not before having to nip around a motorbike in another hair-raising moment on this descent.
Plenty of little gaps in the bunch as QuickStep apply the pressure.
Still downhill and we're about to have contact from the front of this fragmented bunch.
55km to go
Masnada moves to the front now, Alaphilippe still in the wheel, but the pace is slowed a little.
The bunch lines out again but all those little gaps have been allowed to close by that lull.
The descent shallows out now but we've still got several kilometres of descending false flat before we hit the key climb of Passo di Ganda.
Attack from Lorenzo Rota, who has just signed a two-year extension with Intermarché. He's had a good season with 4th at San Sebastian, 4th at Giro della Toscana, 5th at Coppa Sabatini, and 7th at Tre Valli Varesine.
Alaphilippe drifts to the back of the bunch to take off his arm warmers. Roglic also off the back as the favourites enjoy a breather before the next critical part of the race.
Orrico, part of the day's original breakaway, attacks again. Fair play.
Orrico punches his way across to Rota, and now a Movistar rider does the same but the bunch is close at hand.
More riders set off now and the bunch lines out. Like that, the Rota move is done for.
45km to go
QuickStep take it up now, with Devenyns on the front and five behind him.
The other teams get organised as well as the pace once again ratchets up on the approach.
Ineos take the left, Movistar through the middle, QuickStep now on the right.
Roglic is up towards the front but there are no yellow jerseys with him.
Final call for Roglic's pre-race thoughts
41km to go
This is what it looks like
Bagioli leads this bunch onto the climb.
Tiesj Benoot moves to the front to take it up for DSM.
Benoot is working for Bardet, who is a couple of wheels back.
Simon Yates is dropped again
Bagioli's work is done. Almeida is up there for QuickStep on Benoot's wheel.
The bunch is thinning out already on this climb
Benoot, Almeida, Bardet, Alaphilippe, Pogacar, Valverde, Roglic
Teuns is dropped
Benoot continues his charge. Plenty of riders losing contact but no substantial damage just yet.
I say that, but Vlasov and Uran have just been distanced.
Vlasov was on the podium last year and Uran has been on the podium a few times but they won't be in the mix today. Still more than 30 riders able to follow Benoot's pace.
38km to go
Geoghegan Hart hits the front with Sivakov on the wheel.
Evenepoel is down towards the back of this bunch.
Evenepoel losing contact
Huge development as Evenepoel, one of the pre-race favourites, loses contact. He's with Vlasov and they are gapped.
Nibali attacks!
The Italian won this race in 2015 and 2017. His best years appeared to be behind him but he's back to light this one up.
Pinot is dropped as well now and Evenepoel links up with the Frenchman
Nibali is brought back by Rafal Majka.
But Nibali kicks again and now Sivakov goes with. And Pogacar!!
Bardet goes over to it but slow response from QuickStep and Roglic. Big moment
That quartet is going clear here and they're followed by a group of a dozen as the bunch continues to fragment on the Passo di Ganda.
Pogacar attacks!
The Tour de France champion has ripped clear of Nibali, Bardet, and Sivakov. He's going solo with 35km to go
Nibali, Bardet, and Sivakov are brought back by the rest of the favourites group.
Masnada attacks from that group now. QuickStep have lost Evenepoel and are rethinking their tactics.
Pogacar has 15 seconds in hand. Huge ask from here.
Almeida is struggling at the back of the group of favourites. This is turning into a nightmare for Deceunick-QuickStep.
30 seconds now for Pogacar!
Yates attacks behind!
Alaphilippe sees it and weaves through the group to get onto the wheel.
Roglic is third wheel now as the pace lifts in this group
Nibali is dropped now after his earlier attack.
Yates drags a select group over to Masnada, who slots in.
Roglic in trouble!
The Slovenian has to pull out the line and then drifts to the back of the group. He's not dropped but it's looking dangerous. Still, brave to count Primoz Roglic out of anything.
Masnada continues his effort and is now pulling for Alaphilippe and the rest of this group.
These are the nine riders left in the favourites group as we head onto the upper slopes of the Passo di Ganda.
But Pogacar is still alone out front and he still has 32 seconds.
Masnada continues to bury himself for this chase. Roglic is only other rider with a teammate but Vingegaard had to chase back on just then and might not be able to contribute much on this climb.
Masnada, mouth agape, is giving everything here. Brilliant ride, especially considering Evenepoel and Almeida have been dropped. All on Alaphilippe from here.
And now Alaphilippe attacks!
31km to go
Vingegaard is dropped by that Alaphilippe acceleration near the top but could get back in on the descent.
Alaphilippe continues to set a blistering pace downhill.
Pogacar nearly comes down! A minute after going to the limit on a left-hander, he skids on a right-hander.
There are a couple of undulations up here before the sustained part of the descent, and now Masnada comes back into the fold
And Masnada attacks! The Italian pings out the front of this chasing group of favourites.
Alaphilippe can sit in now and force others to chase.
Big lull in that group now!
Masnada closes to 22 seconds behind Pogacar, while that group stalls and drifts to 40 seconds.
Vingegaard is back in now and it's the Dane who has to start chasing.
Alaphilippe looks a bit on edge here. Will firing Masnada up the road prove to be the wrong move? Time will tell
26km to go
After this descent we have around 10km of flat before the up-down finale in Bergamo. Masnada needs to get to Pogacar before then, so he can sandbag on Pogacar's wheel.
Masnada almost comes undone on a right-hand bend and he loses a couple of seconds.
Still fast downhill and Pogacar is holding Masnada at 14 seconds and the select chase group at 45 seconds.
Masnada closes to 9 seconds now but the chase group is drifting to 48 seconds
A couple of tight hairpins back-to-back for Pogacar but he holds firm. The wobbles appear to be over.
Vingegaard continues to lead the chase group downhill as the hairpins stack up towards the bottom of this descent.
Masnada closes to within seven seconds as they hit a peddling section.
Five seconds...
3 seconds...
And contact!
15.5km to go
Just in time. The descent ends and the road flattens out. What happens now? Surely Masnada just sits on and makes Pogacar work.
Vingegaard takes the chase group off the descent at 45 seconds.
Masnada hits the wind. But he gets on the radio to ask his bosses what he should do.
It seems that Masnada is happy to work with Pogacar.
Vingegaard waves his arm in the chase, calling for collaboration. Roglic issues a brief acceleration but this group does not look like a cohesive one.
Woods and Yates roll through now but they're still at 45 seconds with only 12.5km to go
Masnada is on the radio again. He's sitting on now, and appears to have been given the instruction now to work with the Tour de France champion.
Pogacar flicks his elbow but Masnada is not coming through.
Masnada doesn't look too happy here as he receives instructions from the team car. It looks like a gesticulating Davide Bramati barking the orders.
10km to go
The gap falls to 30 seconds!
But now the chase group stalls again!
They take 15 seconds back and then just completely stall again. Bizarre
Yates off the front but mainly because he was doing his turn and everyone else switched off. Alaphilippe and Bardet look to go across.
Alaphilippe, Valverde, and Bardet are over with Yates.
Alaphilippe accelerates (yes his teammate is up the road), but now the group comes back together.
The gap is back up to 40 seconds with 7.5km to go
Woods accelerates but it's difficult to see this coming back given the clear lack of collaboration in this group.
This looks like it'll come down to a fight between Pogacar and Masnada. A reminder that they'll be tackling a steep narrow and cobbled climb up into Bergamo old town before the final 3km dip down to the line.
6.5km to go and the gap is still 45 seconds.
Masnada sticks to the back wheel of Pogacar. He's sitting in but he has already done a huge amount of work today, before he himself emerged as leader for QuickStep here. A huge ask to rob the Liege and Tour de France champion but what can he muster on the run-in?
5km to go
Pogacar leads Masnada into Bergamo. Fascinating battle in prospect now. Pogacar could be about to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Tour de France, and Il Lombardia in the same season. Masnada could claim the biggest win of his career in dramatic fashion.
4km to go and the chasers are at 55 seconds. They're out of it.
The road begins to rise but the intense part of the climb is still to come
They hit the cobbles now and pass under the gate to the old town.
Pogacar almost inadvertently opens a gap on Masnada but the Italian is back with him now as they go back onto tarmac.
Pogacar rises from the saddle and lifts the pace on the steep slopes!
This is it! Bit acceleration and Masnada matches it
Loads of fans up here
Masnada attacks!
The Italian looks to spring a surprise as they head out the old town and hit a final false flat before the descent
Pogacar gets on terms with ease and they head downhill. 3 to go
Bardet lights it up behind but it's only for the podium
Woods, Alaphilippe, Valverde, Gaudu are the only ones who can follow Bardet through the old town.
Masnada settles back into Pogacar’s slipstream as they enter the final 2km
1500 metres to go and Masnada is going to make Pogacar lead this out. He shakes his head when asked for a turn.
1km to go
Pogacar still on the front. Flat now
Pogacar gets nervous inside 500 to go. He looks around
Pogacar continues to look around., 300 to go now
Pogacar opens it up
And Pogacar takes it!
Comfortable in the end for the Slovenian, who wins his second Monument
Who for the final podium spot? Roglic is back in the mix and hits the front
But Yates sprints through and grabs third place
Top 10
Let's hear from the winner
Last rider to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia in the same season: Moreno Argentin in 1987
Here's our report page, where you'll also find results and photos
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