Pogačar the unstoppable

Slovenian wins fifth II Lombardia in a row, as history repeats itself, writes Adam Becket

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If you felt a sense of déjà vu while watching II Lombardia on Saturday, you would not be alone.

For the fifth year in a row, Tadej Pogačar won the Italian hilly Monument, the first time a rider has ever managed this. He is now tied on five wins at Lombardia with Fausto Coppi; in fact, Pogačar has won every edition of Lombardia he has ridden. For the second year in a row, Remco Evenepoel was the best of the rest behind Pogačar, trailing by 1:48 this year. It was over three minutes in 2024, so perhaps in two more editions there will be a duel.

This was the third weekend in a row where Pogačar defeated Evenepoel, with the top two remaining the same in the road race at the World Championships, the road race at the European Championships, and now II Lombardia.

Welcome to the copy-and-paste autumn, where every event feels remarkably similar.

Saturday's race saw the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man go solo with around 36km to go, less than his lone attacks at the Worlds and the Euros, but just as decisive.