Tadej Pogačar domination or something else? Four things you need to know about Il Lombardia

It's the Monument which favours climbers more than any other, with the podium looking as much like a Grand Tour result than a Classic. Do take our Il Lombardia quiz.

1. A record for Pogačar?
Tadej Pogačar is pretty good at this race. A look down the roll of honour reveals that he won last year. And the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that.

If he wins a fifth edition this time round, he will become the joint record holder along with Fausto Coppi, who won for the final time back in 1954. But even II Campionissimo did not take all his victories back to back.

No pressure then, Tadej. But then again, who would bet against him?

2. Monumental endeavour
Il Lombardia - nicknamed the Race of the Falling Leaves due to its autumn spot on the calendar - falls at a time when most riders have one eye on an off-season week in the sun and some have already called it a day. But it is in fact one of cycling's key one-day events - a so-called Monument. No wonder: it was inaugurated in 1905, just two years after the Tour de France. It is also a beautiful looking event, a bone fide abridged version of the Giro's 'bella corsa'.

3. Route finding
The route for Il Lombardia generally flits between starting at Como and finishing in Bergamo and vice versa, so there is no set parcours as such. This year sees the Bergamo finish back in place. It comes at the end of a mountainous 241km featuring six classified climbs and a short, spiky ascent just before the finish too. Featuring the climb of the famous Madonna di Ghisallo among others, this is exactly the same route that Pogačar won on in 2023.

4. (Another) clash of the titans
This year's Lombardia goes some way to replicating the super-strong fields seen in recent one-day races such as the World Championships in Kigali and the European Championships that followed it. Among the first names announced on the start list were those of Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Tom Pidcock, signalling the intent of those riders and setting the scene for an impressive showdown with which to end the season.

Riders to watch

Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG

It is hard to see past the Slovenian at this point, who will undoubtedly begin the race as the outright favourite. The imperious manner in which he won the Tour de France and more recently the World Championships places him well above his rivals.
CW rating: 5 stars

Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step

The Soudal-Quick Step rider has unfinished business here after finishing ninth in 2023 and second last year, behind another Pogačar rampage. The Belgian is clearly in good shape after wins in the Worlds and European time trials.
CW rating: 4 stars

Tom Pidcock (Gbr) Q36.5

Having moved to Q36.5 for this season the Brit has refound his mojo, and used it to record some solid results throughout the year - including an eyebrow-raising third place on GC at the Vuelta a España last month. He was a somewhat disappointed 10th at what he called an "absolutely brutal" Worlds, and will hope to improve on that on his debut Lombardia.
CW rating: 3 stars

Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG

The talented Spaniard's past few months have not been plain sailing, with a war of words breaking out between him and his team during the Vuelta culminating in him announcing he would move to Lidl-Trek for 2026. How that will affect his performance at Lombardia remains to be seen, but on paper he can vie for a podium place in what is his first start here.
CW rating: 3 stars

Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost

Eighth here in 2023, the mercurial Ecuadorian is never an easy one to read. While most of his biggest victories are a few years old now, he seems to pull at least one memorable win out of the bag each season. This year he's already had a Giro stage win, perhaps he's teeing up Lombardia for number two.
CW rating: 2 stars