UCI WorldTour: Pogačar concludes monumental season in Lombardy

Pogačar followed in the footsteps of legends

On Saturday, Tadej Pogačar followed in the footsteps of legends like Fausto Coppi and Alfredo Binda on the roads of Il Lombardia, the last one-day race of the 2023 UCI WorldTour.

Season after season, month after month, week in and week out, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) keeps on impressing with spectacular performances at the highest level of road cycling.

There are countless numbers to measure the Slovenian’s historic achievements, but it’s hard to pick the most essential ones, those that place him in a category of his own, alongside legends such as Fausto Coppi and Alfredo Binda.

So, let’s begin with the sensational impressions left by the young star in road cycling.

On Saturday, Thibaut Pinot’s fans (Groupama-FDJ) had gathered on the slopes of the final climb of Il Lombardia, Colle Aperto, to bid farewell to their idol. The chants for the French climber echoed all afternoon with one single interruption - they couldn’t help but let out cries of admiration when Pogačar arrived, on his way to victory.

The young star had attacked some 30 kilometres earlier, on the way up the Passo di Ganda, and kept pushing on the following descent and through the valley leading to Bergamo. Cramps in the final stages could not stop him on the way to a historic triple.

Pogačar had already conquered Il Lombardia on the same roads two years earlier. And he won the Monument again in 2022, this time on the shores of Lake Como. In recent years, regardless of the specific course, Pogačar rules Lombardy. And he does it in impressive fashion.

A wonderkid alongside Campionissimi

“It's incredible to win for the third time in a row”, said the Slovenian. Il Lombardia is a dream race for any rider”, he said of the race that was full of emotions, especially when being alone on the road”. On the finish line, Pogačar won with a gap of almost a minute to Andrea Bagioli (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).

Leaving his rivals behind, the Slovenian star has joined up with other prestigious names in the history of cycling.

A third victory in Lombardy? The feat had only been achieved previously by a handful of Italian champions and two foreigners, French Henri Pélissier (1911, 1913 and 1920) and Irish Sean Kelly (1983, 1985 and 1991).

A third consecutive victory in Lombardy? Only two “Campionissimi” had done so before: the legendary Alfredo Binda (1925-27) and Fausto Coppi (four consecutive victories, from 1949 to 1952).

Among his competitors, Pogačar has the best record in Monument classics: five successes, with Il Lombardia (2021, 2022, 2023), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (2021) and the Tour of Flanders (2023). A series of victories that have already earned him a special place in the history of the sport.

With another success in Lombardy, he is now the only rider to have won the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and Il Lombardia in the same year. “It’s been a strange season for me, with an injury, but a really great season, especially after today’s win and we also top the team ranking this year, and that was a big goal for us”, he says.

Unstoppable

A crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège stopped his phenomenal spring season and hampered his preparations for the Tour de France. Pogačar nonetheless claimed two stage wins in July, a second place in Paris and won the best young rider classification for the fourth and last time. He finishes his season with 17 victories (one more than in 2022).

His record is impressive with the volume, quality and variety of his achievements, from the Classics (hilly or cobbled) to the stage races. Pogačar knows he has exceptional talent, of the sort you come across one or two per generation. And he wants to make the most of his skills to build up one of the greatest and most varied track-records in the history of cycling.

Year after year, he keeps on exploring - and conquering - new horizons, and he still eyes new territories. When it comes to Monuments, Milano-San Remo is already in his sights and he plans to put on some weight to be ideally suited to Paris-Roubaix. Regarding stage races, the Giro d’Italia awaits him and he will want to come back to La Vuelta Ciclista a España, where he delivered his first Grand Tour feats, in 2019.

At 25, Pogačar still has a broad range of terrain to explore. But when it comes to the end of the season, it’s all about Il Lombardia. His performances there are already historic, and it’s undoubtedly only the beginning.