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Il Lombardia - 8th October 2022 **spoilers**

andypandyp Posts: 9,995
edited October 2022 in Pro race
Thought it was timely to create a spoiler thread ahead of the final monument of the season.

This year the race switches the start and finish towns from last year, starting in Bergamo and finishing in Como after 253 kms of climbs and lake views through the best of the Lombardia countryside.





The final has changed from previous editions, with two ascents of the San Fermo Della Battaglia climb, the first after 225 kms, followed by the ascent up to Civiglio, then the second peaking out at 247 kms, followed by a fast and twisty descent down to finish on the Lungo Lario between Como and the lake that bears the same name.

Most pundits expect a showdown between Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard, who prepared with two stages win and second on GC in the recent Cro Race, and the Tour runner-up and defending champion, Tadej Pogačar, whose preparation has been more high profile with wins at the GP Montreal and Tre Valle Varesine in recent weeks.

Other contenders include former winners Bauke Mollema, Jakob Fuglsang and Vincenzo Nibali, plus Enric Mas, who won last Saturday's Giro dell'Emilia ahead of Pogačar, Romain Bardet, Adam Yates, Dani Martinez, Sergio Higuita, Aleksandr Vlasov and Julian Alaphilippe.

This race will be the final race for both Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde, two of the biggest names of the sport over the past fifteen years.

Posts

  • andypandyp Posts: 9,995
    Simon Yates is a non-starter, he withdrew earlier the week due to injuries sustained in a crash at last weekend's Giro dell'Emilia.
  • No_Ta_DoctorNo_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,030
    Michael Nieve's career ends with a bad crash 😢

    Pozzovivo also down hard and abandons
    “Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”

    @DrHeadgear

    The Vikings are coming!
  • ddraverddraver Posts: 26,241
    A lot of people about to fall into the old Italian Classics are on Saturday trap.

    Me included...🙈
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Mad_MalxMad_Malx Posts: 4,957
    Just turned in. Bit dull I take it?
  • kingstongrahamkingstongraham Posts: 25,851
    It's very pretty
  • poweredbyidrispoweredbyidris Posts: 846
    Has allowed Hatch to warble on every 5 mins about Valverde and Nibs retiring
  • gsk82gsk82 Posts: 3,397
    Mad_Malx said:

    Just turned in. Bit dull I take it?

    I've always struggled to be interested in it. Maybe I find it dull because I'm not bothered
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • seanoconnseanoconn Posts: 10,929
    Great effort by Mas. Looked a lot closer head on.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • hanshotfirsthanshotfirst Posts: 358
    "Planet Pog" 😒
  • r0bhr0bh Posts: 2,131
    Is this the fewest posts for a monument ever?
  • No_Ta_DoctorNo_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,030
    Worst sprint ever by Mas. Goes while Pog is looking straight at him, doesn't even get level.
    “Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”

    @DrHeadgear

    The Vikings are coming!
  • No_Ta_DoctorNo_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,030
    Race was fairly dull but very pretty. Background cycling
    “Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”

    @DrHeadgear

    The Vikings are coming!
  • ProssPross Posts: 39,238
    Felt like a much stronger field than usual. Caught the last 11km and thought there might be a bit of jeopardy for the front 3 when the two chasers came out of the group behind but they never got close. It should be a really good race but just suffers from its position in the calendar.
  • blazing_saddlesblazing_saddles Posts: 21,604
    Just got back after an extended stay in Mallorca.
    I guess I will have a lot of races to catch up on as the curtain comes down on the season.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • rick_chaseyrick_chasey Posts: 70,618 Lives Here
    Totally out of action this afternoon, what did I miss?
    _
  • TheBigBeanTheBigBean Posts: 19,910
    JV made the race hard enough that only Pogacar and Landa could stay with Mas. Landa struggled to stay with them. Pog won the two up sprint as you would expect.

    Valverde won the sprint for 6th and waved goodbye.
  • bm5bm5 Posts: 526
    Poor Nieve. Rubbish way to end his career. I have been a fan for many years. I always found his years at orica interesting as he seemed so unlike the others.
  • dish_dashdish_dash Posts: 5,534
    Pog scored big for almost everyone!

    Player Pick Points
    m.r.m. Pogacar 50
    red.rider Pogacar 50
    Dorset_Boy Pogacar 50
    takethehighroad Pogacar 50
    Dialatron Pogacar 50
    dish_dash Pogacar 50
    TheBigBean Pogacar 50
    ducknumber1 Pogacar 50
    orraloon Pogacar 50
    twotoebenny Pogacar 50
    gregster04 Pogacar 50
    carbonclem Pogacar 50
    singleton Mas 40
    archieboy Mas 40
    JimD666 Martinez 0
    ocdupalais Mohoric 0
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