Il Lombardia: Alaphilippe's rainbow challenge

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) is the UCI Road World Champion for the second year in a row, but this weekend will mark his first opportunity to fly his rainbow stripes on the roads of Il Lombardia (9 October).

This autumn, the Italian Classic recovers its place as the final Monument of the season, only a few days after the UCI Road World Championships in Flanders (Belgium), and it could see the Frenchman claim another landmark win, in the wake of his triumph in Leuven.

Winning both the UCI World title and Il Lombardia is no easy feat, as highlighted by recent history. Paolo Bettini is the last rider to have achieved such a feat, back in 2006. The very next year, wearing the rainbow jersey again, he was 103rd after he was unable to follow the winning move on the slopes of the Civiglio.

The Italian puncheur had all the abilities necessary to shine on Lombard roads, as he had already proved in 2005 with a first victory in Como. He thrived with uphill challenges, he was a great descender and had a devastating kick to drop his rivals or tame them in a sprint. These many abilities are now embodied by Julian Alaphilippe, Bettini’s successor as a two-time UCI World Champion for Deceuninck – Quick-Step.

Since Bettini’s double triumph, Cadel Evans (AUS - 10th in 2009) and Alejandro Valverde (ESP - 11th in 2018) are the reigning UCI World Champions who have come the closest to victory at Il Lombardia. Peter Sagan (SVK) didn’t visit Lombardy during his three-year reign (his two participations date back to 2010 and 2013, with two DNFs), neither did Mark Cavendish (GBR) in 2011, nor Mads Pedersen (DEN) in 2019 or 2020. The thousands of metres of elevation of the Italian Monument didn’t suit their abilities.

Alaphilippe - Il Lombardia, a match made in cycling heaven?

With Julian Alaphilippe, it’s the other way around. He was not necessarily a favourite in Flanders, where he had to go all-out in order to open his way to victory, but his many talents are perfectly suited to Il Lombardia’s challenges.

The French puncheur discovered the Classic of the falling leaves in 2014, and he didn’t make it to the finish, which was set in Bergamo on that occasion. He came back a couple of years later and was among the last finishers (60th) at the end of a very demanding season. But in 2017, his most recent participation, he climbed onto the podium of a Monument for the third time in his young career.

“It’s unbelievable”, a 25-year-old Alaphilippe said as he finished 2nd on the day. “I did my best, but I couldn’t follow Nibali when he attacked. I’m not disappointed because it’s something special to be on the podium of a Monument classic.”

On that day, Alaphilippe flew on the downhills but he came just a bit short on the final climbs leading to Como, with the Civiglio - San Fermo della Battaglia sequence after the Muro di Sormano.

Established champions and unprecedented challenges

In 2021, the race is reversed and the peloton will head to Bergamo with an unprecedented route (239km). The peloton will go past the church of Madonna del Ghisallo early in the race. As the race enters the province of Bergamo, the route becomes a roller-coaster with the climbs of Roncola, Berbenno, Dossena, Zambla Alta and Passo di Ganda.

As the Race Director Mauro Vegni puts it: “It’s a route without a wall like Sormano but a series of climbs adding up to 4,500m of elevation.” In the last kilometres, the contenders will battle it out on the slopes of the Colle Aperto, a short, technical ascent with 200m of cobbles, before a fast 3km run-in to the line.

On paper, it looks like a delight for Alaphilippe. But his predecessors in the rainbow jersey have met many obstacles on the way to success in Lombardia. This year, “Loulou” will battle again with the 2017 winner of Il Lombardia, Vincenzo Nibali. “The Shark” just returned to his winning ways with a solo triumph in the final stage of the Giro di Sicilia that also brought him the overall victory.

Other stars such as Tadej Pogačar (SLO - UAE Team Emirates), Primož Roglič (SLO - Jumbo-Visma), Adam Yates (GBR - Ineos Grenadiers) and Michael Woods (CAN - Israel Start-Up Nation) have recently shown their good condition. Deceuninck – Quick-Step also come with the in-form Joao Almeida (POR) and Remco Evenepoel (BEL), who promises “spectacle” as he comes back to Il Lombardia a year after a terrible crash on the downhill from Sormano.

Julian Alaphilippe warned them all as he celebrated his triumph in Leuven: “I’m recovering a bit and I’ll be back.”