The Race of the Falling Leaves is rather greener of hue in 2020 after the UCI, seemingly eager to sweep everything out of the path of the Tour de France and World Championships on the revised calendar, tucked the traditional grand finale of the cycling season into the middle of August. It’s a most incongruous slot for an event with the history and prestige of Il Lombardia, and not one that has been well received in Italy. In a letter to Tuttobici this morning, former race director Carmine Castellano witheringly described the notion of a summertime Tour of Lombardy as “a lengthened Coppa Agostoni, with all due respect for the Coppa Agostoni.”
The clash with the Critérium du Dauphiné deprives Il Lombardia of some putative contenders – most notably, Julian Alaphilippe, Thibaut Pinot and Egan Bernal – but there is still a box office feel to today’s race, not least because of the presence of one Remco Evenepoel, who is making his Monument debut. At only 20 years of age, the Belgian is the favourite for victory in Como, but his route to victory is not a straightforward one. It runs over the Colle Gallo, Colle Brianza, Madonna del Ghisallo, Muro di Sormano, Civiglio and San Fermo della Battaglia – and it runs through men like Vincenzo Nibali, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), Aleksandr Vlasov, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Richard Carapaz (Ineos).
The race rolls out of Bergamo at 12.20 CET after a minute's silence to remember the victims of the coronavirus pandemic in the city and beyond. Bergamo was one of the cities worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the dark days of late March, it seemed impossible to imagine that Largo Porta Nuova would play host to the start of a bike race in 2020.
The gruppo is due to hit kilometre zero at 12.25. The distance is a slightly reduced 231km this year, but all the familiar ascents from this iteration of Il Lombardia are on the course.
The temperature is 28°C at the start in Bergamo and is expected to rise above 30°C as the afternoon draws on. Quite a difference from the frigid conditions faced by winner Giovanni Gerbi and the eleven other finishers in the first edition of the Giro di Lombardia on November 12, 1905.
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Today’s edition of Il Lombardia takes place on the Italian public holiday of Ferragosto but the date won’t bolster the crowds on the roadside. The race is effectively taking place behind closed doors, with tifosi barred from lining the roads on the Madonna del Ghisallo and the Muro di Sormano, while there will be no big screens for spectators at the finish in Como and the podium will not be open to the public.
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All eyes will be on Remco Evenepoel this afternoon. The Deceuninck-QuickStep man has a 1.000 batting average in stage races this year - he's won the Vuelta a San Juan, the Volta ao Algarve, Vuelta a Burgos and Tour de Pologne - and he struck a confident note ahead of Il Lombardia. Though that's hardly news: the Belgisch wonderkind's default setting is confident. "If I'm a favourite maybe it's my own fault…" Evenepoel told reporters on Thursday. "I feel really, really good, my preparation was very good, so I'm in the best shape of the season so far. It's perfect timing. For a six-hour race with a lot of climbing, I think you need to be in good shape and I think we did a perfect job." Read more here.
The Tour de Pologne would ordinarily have struggled for attention last Saturday given the clash with Milan-San Remo and a Tour de l'Ain that doubled as a Tour de France dress rehearsal, but Evenepoel's outsized talent is such that he would demand our attention even if he were riding his turbo trainer. He attacked alone with 51km to go on the toughest stage in Poland to solo to victory and effectively seal the overall title.
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Max Schachmann has flown under the radar somewhat ahead of Il Lombardia, but the German champion was one of the outstanding performers before the coronavirus interrupted the season, winning Paris-Nice, and he rode very strongly indeed on his return to action at Strade Bianche, taking third. He was quieter at the Tour de Pologne and though he has ridden Il Lombardia just once in his career (73rd in 2019), he will surely be in the mix by the time we reach Lake Como later in the afternoon. He's joined by Rafal Majka and Patrick Konrad in the Bora-Hansgrohe team today.
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Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) is chasing a third victory at Il Lombardia after his triumphs in 2015 and 2017. A third win would put him level with Costante Girardengo, Sean Kelly, Gino Bartali, Damiano Cunego, Gaetano Belloni and Henri Pélissier in the record books. Alfredo Binda has four wins and, of course, Fausto Coppi holds the record, with five Giro di Lombardia triumphs, including four-in-a-row from 1946 to 1949.
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Rosskopf isn't being granted much leeway, however, and it seems that the American's attack won't stick.
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Although Julian Alaphilippe is an absentee (he’s in action at the Critérium du Dauphiné), Deceuninck-QuickStep have a solid team around Remco Evenepoel this afternoon. Tour de l’Ain stage winner Andrea Bagioli, Portuguese revelation João Almeida and strongman Dries Devenyns are among those lining up alongside the Belgian.
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That septet is joined by four more riders: Daniel Savini (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Denis Nekrasov (Gazprom-RusVelo), Emmanuel Morin (Cofidis) and Marco Frapporti (Vini Zabù – KTM). It looks as though we finally have our early break.
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The intensity has finally slackened in the peloton and the escapees are stretching out their advantage accordingly as they scale the Colle Gallo (6km at 6.7%).
For all the polemics about its place on the calendar this year, it should be noted that a lack of respect for the Tour of Lombardy is not an entirely new phenomenon. Ahead of a 1981 edition where Bernard Hinault, world champion Freddy Maertens, defending champion Fons De Wolf and Roger De Vlaeminck were among the high-profile absentees, the late Gianni Mura delivered a memorably cutting assessment of the depth of the peloton: "They call it, imbued with lyricism, the Race of the Falling Leaves. And that's true - only this time it seems to me that a lot of falling leaves have numbers pinned on their backs."
In any case, there's certainly no questioning the motivation of the men lining out at this year's race. There has been a blistering pace thus far, with 47.45km covered in the first hour.
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Away from Il Lombardia, stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné is taking place today. At times, the opening three stages felt as though they could have been taking place on Zwift (the poor souls caught in the hailstones on Thursday certainly wished they'd been racing on a virtual platform), but the race is not short on drama today. Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) was a non-starter due to a back injury, while Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma), Emanuel Buchmann and Gregor Muhlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) have all abandoned after an early crash. Julian Alaphilippe is in the day's early break.
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Situation:
Il Lombardia is descending the Colle Gallo and heading towards Felice Gimondi country, though the race will not pass through his home village of Sedrina, which is about 8km up the Val Brembana from Villa d'Alme.
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Felice Gimondi's death at the age of 76. He won the Giro di Lombardia on two occasions, in 1966 and 1973. He gave the ceremonial start to the race in Bergamo in 2018.
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Ordinarily, one would ask whether it was possible for a 20-year-old debutant to win Il Lombardia. This week, Deceuninck-QuickStep directeur sportif Geert Van Bondt found himself being asked whether it was possible for Evenepoel to lose Il Lombardia. “Of course, he always can,” Van Bondt told Sporza. “He's not alone at the start. And this is his first Lombardy, as it is for teammates like Andrea Bagioli and Joao Almeida. You can't say in advance that he'll win."
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Stephen Farrand has more on the abandons of Steven Kruijswijk and Emanuel Buchmann at the Critérium du Dauphiné here.
At Il Lombardia, the pace has abated briefly in the peloton and the escapees have quickly tacked on another minute to their advantage, which now stands at 4:28.
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George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) was a very impressive winner at Gran Piemonte in midweek, having already been Primoz Roglic's key domestique at the Tour de l'Ain last week. He'll be back in the service of the Slovenian at the Tour de France, but Bennett has one more chance to ride for himself at Il Lombardia. His best finish here was 10th in 2018, but Bennett's sparkling form makes him an obvious contender for victory in Como. "I know it's a super opportunity for me. With a team like ours, stacked with talent, you've got to take your chances when you can, so I'm going all in for Il Lombardia. I'm optimistic," Bennett said yesterday. Stephen Farrand has the full story here.
The man who came closest to living with Bennett's winning move on Wednesday was one Gianni Moscon, who has been largely anonymous since his remarkable purple patch in late 2018 - save for for his battling 4th at the Yorkshire Worlds and, of course, for his disqualification from Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne for throwing his bike at Jens Debusschere. That was Moscon's last race before the lockdown, and the Ineos rider has since stated that he will miss the Grand Tours in 2020 in order to focus on the Classics. He placed third in Il Lombardia in 2017, though it's unclear what his place will be in the hierarchy of an Ineos team that also includes Richard Carapaz, Eddie Dunbar and Ivan Sosa.
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Situation
After two hours of racing, incidentally, the average speed was 44.2kph. The terrain becomes decidedly more rugged once the race heads towards the shores of Lake Como.
Vakoc and the break are on the upper slopes of the Colle Brianze with a buffer of just over 4 minutes on the peloton.
Deceuninck-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma are the teams commanding affairs in the peloton, as befits the fact that they have the form men of the race in their ranks in Remco Evenepoel and George Bennett.
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Remco Evenepoel's procession drew all the attention at the Tour de Pologne last week, but Jakob Fulgsang was the best of the rest in second place overall. The Astana man went too hard too soon in the break at Strade Bianche and suffered accordingly, placing 5th, but the Dane is a real threat here. He placed 4th in both 2019 and the rain-soaked 2010 edition, and he is joined by Mont Ventoux Denivele Challenge winner Aleksandr Vlasov in the line-up today. That pair will also be in action for Astana at the Giro d'Italia in October.
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Wout van Aert’s stunning sequence of results has left Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) feeling a little like last year’s man, but it’s worth noting that the Dutchman took a decent third place at Gran Piemonte in midweek. The Dutchman has downplayed his chances at Il Lombardia, however, saying “if you look at the course, it’s too difficult for me.” According to Wielerflits, Van der Poel stated that his first aim is to survive the inevitable cull on the Muro di Sormano and then see what he has left for the finale. And his prediction for Il Lombardia was rather like everybody else’s: “Whoever beats Evenepoel on Saturday wins.”
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The race is now climbing steadily towards Valbrona before the quick drop down to Onno on the south-eastern branch of Lake Como immortalised in the opening lines of Alessandro Manzoni's I promessi sposi. Soon afterwards, the race reaches the centrepiece of the Giro di Lombardia and the climb of Madonna del Ghisallo.
UAE Team Emirates have an interesting squad at Il Lombardia, with Fabio Aru leading the line alongside Diego Ulissi, who placed second at Gran Piemonte and Valerio Conti, who caught the eye with his performances at the Tour de l'Ain. Brandon McNulty is also in action after competing at the Tour de Pologne. The American is in his first season at UAE Team Emirates and began his campaign with strong displays at the Vuelta a San Juan and Ruta del Sol. We caught up with the young American in Argentina in January to run the rule over his progress to this point.
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Situation
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The Tour of Lombardy scaled the Ghisallo for the first time in 1919 and the ascent immediately became a fixture on a route that wound its way around the branches of Lake Como. During a post-World War II edition of Il Lombardia, parish priest Ermelindo Viganò noticed riders making the sign of the cross as they crested the summit, prompting him to ask Pope Pius XII to place the protection of cyclists under the patronage of the Madonna, and the chapel was re-dedicated accordingly. These days, the chapel incorporates a museum, which poignantly displays the crushed bike of the late Fabio Casartelli, the Como native killed when he crashed on the Col de Portet d'Aspet at the 1995 Tour.
2019 winner Bauke Mollema had this to say before the start: "It’s a bit strange because it’s super warm and sunny so not like Lombardia normally is. It’s a race I like and love, so I hope in to be in the finale again and do a good result. My legs are pretty good in the last few weeks at Occitanie and the Tour de l'Ain, so I think I'll be there in the final."
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Astana and Deceuninck-QuickStep are setting the tempo on the lower slops of the Madonna del Ghiasallo. The Ghisallo-Sormano combination should see the peloton whittled down considerably.
Gaburro is caught and passed by James Piccoli (Israel Start-Up Nation), Florian Stork (Team Sunweb) and Joey Rosskopf (CCC Team). Piccoli forces the pace and is trying to forge clear alone over the Ghisallo.
Piccoli is in front with Rosskopf and Stork chasing him, but the Deceuninck-QuickStep-led bunch is picking off the remnants of the break and has closed to within 18 seconds of the leaders.
Rosskopf rids himself of Stork and sets off in lone pursuit of Piccoli. Devenyns sets the tempo in the peloton for Evenepoel.
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Rosskopf is caught by the bunch. James Piccoli is the last man standing from the early break, but the Canadian surely won't last too long at this rate.
Meanwhile, many riders are being jettisoned off the back of the bunch by the QuickStep pace-making, most notably Fabio Aru. This is very early indeed for a rider of his calibre to be distanced.
Devenyns leads the bunch with Evenepoel on his wheel. Fuglsang and an Astana delegation are lined up just behind Evenepoel. Vincenzo Nibali is also tucked in near the front of the bunch, which is about to catch Piccoli.
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Devenyns is the only help Evenepoel has left but maybe this is all the help he thinks he needs. It's hard to shake off a sense that Deceuninck-QuickStep want this race to be decided on individual strength rather than team tactics. Will Evenepoel go from distance again?
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Devenyns leads the race past the tolling bells of the chapel atop the Madonna del Ghiasallo, with Evenepoel tucked safely on his wheel.
After a rapid descent, the race will face directly into the Colma di Sormano (5.1km at 6.6%), which segues immediately into the brutal Muro di Sormano (1.9km at 15.8%), which features pitches of 27%.
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Evenepoel and Devenyns exchange a few words at the head of this leading group of perhaps just 25 riders. The riders behind are braced for an onslaught on the Sormano, but it's notable that Trek-Segafredo have five riders in this group - Nibali, Mollema, Conci, Brambilla and Ciccone.
Mathieu van der Poel and Max Schachmann are also both in this front group as they hit the base of the Colma di Sormano, the antechamber to the pivotal Muro di Sormano. Again, Dries Devenyns sets the pace.
An exchange of words between Nicola Conci and Evenepoel at the head of the race on the approach to the Muro di Sormano. The Italian declines Evenepoel's offer to slot in and help with the pace-making.
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Simon Clarke (EF Pro Cycling) sits at the back of the group and sticks his tongue out at the passing television motorbike to underline the briskness of the pace being imposed by Devenyns.
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Astana take over from Devenyns on the Muro, with Tejada setting the pace ahead of Fuglsang and Vlasov. Big gaps are opening in this front group. Van der Poel, Schachmann and Dunbar are among those losing ground.
Tejada swings over and now Vlasov takes over with Fuglsang on his wheel. Evenepoel, Nibali, Mollema, Ciccone, Woods, Bennett, Rafal Majka and Carapaz are all still in there. Van der Poel, who looked in trouble earlier, is still just about in contact.
Max Schchmann is dropped but not definitively distanced. The German champion is stalking the group and if he can limit his losses, he could well get back into the race over the other side.
There are a dozen riders in this front group nearing the top of the Muro di Sormano: Vlasov, Fuglsang, Evenepoel, Nibali, Mollema, Ciccone, Woods, Bennett, Majka, Carapaz, Ulissi and Van der Poel.
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Michael Woods has also lost contact with the front group, as have Ulissi and Carapaz, but they are still close enough to get back on over the other side.
The strongmen are coming to the fore at the top: Vlasov, Fuglsang, Evenepoel, Nibali, Ciccone and Bennett are at the front, with Mollema scrambling to get back in touch, while the rest of race is scattered across the hillside.
Nibali and Mollema are beginning to show the strain as George Bennett takes over at the front of the race in the closing 200m of the Muro di Sormano, but they are staying - just - in touch.
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Evenepoel takes over on the descent. He's not eager to have Schachmann, Majka, Carapaz, Van der Poel et al latch back on.
Trek-Segafredo have three riders - Nibali, Ciccone and Mollema - in the leading group of seven after the Muro di Sormano. Astana have Vlasov and Fuglsang. George Bennett and Evenepoel are the two lone riders. And this septet looks to be stretching out a decent gap over the chasers.
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We saw a bike on the roadside minus a rider on the descent, and now there is no sign of Evenepoel in this front group. RAI has reported that Evenepoel has crashed...
Remco Evenepoel has crashed. A television replay shows the Belgian crashing into the wall on a bridge on the descent, and flipping off his bike and over the other side.
The former QuickStep rider Laurens De Plus crashed on that same descent on Il Lombardia in 2017. An ambulance is paused on the roadside and it looks as though medical personnel are already descending the grass embankment to attend to Evenepoel.
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The on-screen graphic suggests that Van der Poel has closed to within 20 seconds of of the six leaders, who perhaps stalled more than they realised when they took on bidons after the descent.
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The leading six must be aware of Van der Poel's pursuit, because they have begun to pile on the pressure again at the head of the race. They won't want the Dutchman for company in the finale.
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Remco Evenepoel is being stretchered into an ambulance, with his directeur sportif Davide Bramati by his side. RAI has reported that Evenepoel is conscious.
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A reminder of the six names in the front group: Aleksandr Vlasvov, Jakob Fulgsang (Astana Pro Team), Vincenzo Nibali, Giulio Ciccone, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma).
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Van der Poel has been caught by Carapaz, Schachmann, Majka and Ulissi to form a five-man chasing group, a minute or down on the leaders.
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The three Trek riders are in front. Fuglsang sits at the back of the group and eyes up George Bennett. The New Zealander has no teammate here, but he has plenty of momentum after winning Gran Piemonte.
Carapaz, Van der Poel and the chasers, meanwhile, are now 1:43 down and long out of the hunt for the win.
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Nibali puts in a big turn in a bid to chase them down and then swings over. That looks like the end of his challenge, and now it's up to Mollema and Ciccone.
Nibali sits up, and now Vlasov attacks the other two Trek riders and bridges swiftly across to Fuglsang and Bennett.
George Bennett and the Astana duo of Aleksandr Vlasov and Jakob Fuglsang are in front, 15 seconds clear of Ciccone and a flagging Mollema. Nibali is further down the climb. Trek's numerical advantage looks to have been wasted completely on this run-in.
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Vlasov sets the pace for Fuglsang in the final kilometre of the Civiglio, while Bennett sits on the Dane's wheel.
Mollema and Ciccone have steadied the ship a little on the upper part of the Civiglio, and they have cut their deficit slightly to 15 seconds.
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Vlasov is struggling to keep contact, but then again, he looked in the horros at various points after attacking on Mont Ventoux last week but still emerged a resounding winner.
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Ciccone and Mollema have stuck gamely to their task over the top of the Civiglio, and this duo are just 13 seconds back. They might well get back on before San Fermo della Battaglia, but does either man have the legs to live with Fuglsang and Bennett on a climb?
The summit of San Fermo della Battaglia (2.7km at 7.2%) comes 5.3km from the finish in Como, and the first man to the top will expect to carry off the spoils.
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Out in front, Vlasov is vying to become the second Russian winner of Il Lombardia after Vladisav Bobrik in 1994.
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Ciccone and Mollema are losing ground again on the three leaders, and it doesn't look as though the Trek duo will get back up to Fuglsang, Vlasov and Bennett.
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Bennett puts in another dig, but he can't shake Fuglsang and Vlasov isn't out of the equation just yet either. The Russian is climbing at his own pace but limiting his losses for now.
Fuglsang comes through and takes a turn with Bennett, which Vlasov will hardly appreciate. The have 30 metres or so on the Russian and 33 seconds on Mollema and Ciccone.
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Bennett digs in and is still pedalling well, but the 35-year-old Fuglsang is on another level and already has 16 seconds in hand.
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Vlasov was third over the top, while Mollema chases alone in fourth after Ciccone had to stop for a bike change near the top of San Fermo della Battaglia.
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The summertime edition of Il Lombardia will have a northern European winner. Bennett will claim second place, while Fuglsang's teammate Vlasov should hold off Mollema for third.
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) wins Il Lombardia.
George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) takes second, 30 seconds down.
Aleksander Vlasov (Astana) takes third at 50 seconds after teeing up his teammate Fuglsang for victory.
Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) takes 4th at 1:22. His teammate Giulio Ciccone holds on for 5th.
Max Schachmann has crashed on the descent of San Fermo della Battaglia. Television pictures show he was hit by a non-race car that drove across the road and across Schachmann's path. This incident raises serious, serious questions for organisers RCS Sport and the police in Como.
Schachmann is mercifully back on his bike and is riding into the finish, but that cannot detract from the gravity of what just happened. How on earth was the road open to the public in the closing kilometres of a Monument like Il Lombardia?
Jakob Fuglsang takes the win but this has been a race overshadowed by crashes. Recmo Evenepoel's race was ended by his crash on the descent of the Sormano, while Max Schachmann has just been inexplicably brought down by a car on the race route.
Result
Deceuninck-QuickStep have provided an update on Remco Evenepoel, who crashed out of the race on the descent of the Sormano: "First update on @EvenepoelRemco. He is at the Como hospital, where he is conscious and his condition is being assessed by the medical team. We hope to have more news soon."
Schachmann crossed the line in 7th place and he wears a disbelieving smile as he stands outside an ambulance at the finish line. The German champion doesn't appear to be seriously hurt although he did seem to be nursing an arm when he crossed the line.
Jakob Fuglsang, meanwhile, talks RAI television through his win: "I felt good but you never know how the others feel. I saw George Bennett was strong and he'd won a couple of days ago. It was important to reduce the group and Vlasov was a campione today. He gave me a big hand to finish things off. In the finale I told myself to wait for the sprint, I thought that I could beat him [Bennett]. But when he attacked a second time I decided to go myself and he faded."
Fuglsang added that he didn't see Remco Evenepoel's crash. "I didn’t see anything. I saw Vincenzo go on the front and descent at full speed. I was third wheel and saw there were only a few of us left. I didn’t know what had happened but then I asked and they told me he'd crashed. We can only hope he's okay."
Deceuninck-QuickStep directeur sportif Davide Bramati has spoken to Sporza about Evenepoel's crash. "“We didn’t see the fall ourselves, we only heard about it on the race radio. When we saw that Remco's data had stopped, we already thought it was him. When we got there, all I saw was his bike. A bike without a rider, that's not a pleasant sight. I walked straight down and quickly saw that he was okay. He could talk and said he had pain in his right side. He's in the hospital now, with the doctor, Patrick [Lefevere] and his family. I think he'll be all right. But may the bad luck stop for us now.”
The CPA has just tweeted... its congratulations to Jakob Fuglsang. Surely it would be more appropriate for the riders' representative association to be asking why a random car on the course crashed into one of its members in the closing kilometres?
George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) on his second place finish: "I tried with everything but I couldn't drop him [Fuglsang]…. During the race I felt I had good legs and wanted to attack on the Civiglio. I just couldn't follow Fuglsang that last time. I'm disappointed now but in a few I'll be happy for this result."
More reaction from second-placed George Bennett: "If you’d told me at the start of the week, I’m sure I’d have been happy with it but I can’t help but feel disappointed. I really thought I could win. Astana just had the numbers and I really had to make sure I wasn’t in a two-on-one in the finish and I knew that Jakob was a lot faster than me in a sprint. I had to try to drop him but it was too much and I dropped myself. It’s like that. It’s still a great race and I had a lot of fun. I’m sure I’ll look back and be happy about it but just for the moment it’s hard not to be a little disappointed.”
Deceuninck-QuickStep have just announced that Remco Evenepoel suffered a fractured pelvis and a right lung contusion in his crash on the descent of the Sormano. He will remain in hospital in Como overnight before returning to Belgium on Sunday.
Bora-Hansgrohe, meanwhile, have confirmed that Max Schachmann was taken to hospital after finishing 7th at Il Lombardia, and the team will provide an update on his injuries later on Saturday. The German champion was struck by a car that drove across the course on the final drop into Como.
Thanks for following our live coverage of Il Lombardia this afternoon. A full report, results and pictures are here, while further details on Remco Evenepoel's condition can be read here. The report from today's action at the Criterium du Dauphine is here.
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