Il Lombardia 2025, monument, October 11

[TourOfSardinia]

What a circus. The space for an actual even sportive fight is over when this dude is on the start list.

In horse racing they have handicaps

 

[Unchained]

I don't see how that could be, neither one would have been anywhere near him at that moment. If anyone cares you can go to 58:12 left on the feed as the camera bike is following Roglic and Alaphillipe as they begin the descent and you can see Carapaz crash right in front of them. It didn't look like there was anyone near him and Del Toro had to be a good 1:30 ahead that that point.

It was a joke, like the rest of Richard's results since he dissed Del Toro hasn't finished in front of him since, same with Juan Ayuso.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1977067985580720232

View: https://x.com/EFprocycling/status/1977067985580720232?t=dIU0m02NxbtAPtOVisF8XA&s=19

 

[SHAD0W93]

Fake

If it was real it would have ended with “Thank you for your ATTENTION to this MATTER!!! DONALD J TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

and to settle any argument about what country is better, Belgium has that little peeing statue thing in Brussels.. Only a top country has something like that.. I never heard of Pog's home having anything like that..

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Just a terrible race to end the most boring year of watching I have ever seen, in my 33 years of watching.

And Weibes won the "gravel" WC's...just a terrible day of cycling.

 

[YavorD]

Just a terrible race to end the most boring year of watching I have ever seen, in my 33 years of watching.

Are you sure that last year wasn't worse?
MSR was unpredictable, as always.
RVV and PR formality, especially the latter. They were better this year.
LBL was similar, but there was a distant chance after AGR. Last year you couldn't realistically hope on anything.
The Giro was better this year.
The Tour - similar, although I think this year was better
La Vuelta, that's tough, but at some point it felt like there is a battle this year.
Worlds - Same scenario. Last year was better, because at some point it seemed likely they will catch Pogacar.
Il Lombardia was a formality last year as well.



As bad as this year is, I think 2024 was much worse.

 

[KZD]

5th win in 5 attempts for Pogačar in Il Lombardia, this is truly his race.10th monument win as well, so he is now more than half of the way done to catch Merckx record. Great work from his teammates to set him up with a special mention to Majka which will be dearly missed.

Remco once again second, it must start to become a bit frustating for him but he is in some of the best shape of his career which bodes well for next season.

Good for cycling to have an outsider like Storer on the podium, I didn't expect him to have this engine. Remarkable ride from Quinn Simmons too, this year he is climbing at a whole new level but today was still surprising.

Pidcock with a good 6th place after crashing earlier on and the young guns Del Toro, Seixas and Uijtdebroeks performing well too.

Disappointing performance from Roglič to finish up a difficult season. Red Bull's tactics today were also inexplicable.

 

[Hugh Januss]

It was a joke, like the rest of Richard's results since he dissed Del Toro hasn't finished in front of him since, same with Juan Ayuso.

Ahah well you got me!

 

[Hugh Januss]

Disappointing performance from Roglič to finish up a difficult season. Red Bull's tactics today were also inexplicable.

Red Bull's tactics would have looked less silly if Roglic had gone on to finish on the podium.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Massive difference between Remco and Pog is that Pog has a team around him tailored for these races. Remco doesn’t.

We all lose from the strength of the superteams because people like Vine, Del Toro could actually be contending in these races rather than just supporting Pog and ensuring nobody can take him by surprise.

Did you watch EC and WC?

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Are you sure that last year wasn't worse?
MSR was unpredictable, as always.
RVV and PR formality, especially the latter. They were better this year.
LBL was similar, but there was a distant chance after AGR. Last year you couldn't realistically hope on anything.
The Giro was better this year.
The Tour - similar, although I think this year was better
La Vuelta, that's tough, but at some point it felt like there is a battle this year.
Worlds - Same scenario. Last year was better, because at some point it seemed likely they will catch Pogacar.
Il Lombardia was a formality last year as well.



As bad as this year is, I think 2024 was much worse.

The most compelling race all year.

 

[Lorzenz08]

Just a terrible race to end the most boring year of watching I have ever seen, in my 33 years of watching.

And Weibes won the "gravel" WC's...just a terrible day of cycling.

Hmm with a neutral eye plenty of major races were very entertaining :

MSR was one the most exciting edition in decades
PR was the first time since Hinaut where a GT winner is a serious contender
Giro was interesting with many unexpected turns
Vuelta was closer than any Roglic edition

Pretty interesting year tbh

 

[aphronesis]

There’s maybe a pattern of omission and relative strengths here.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Hmm with a neutral eye plenty of major races were very entertaining :

MSR was one the most exciting edition in decades
PR was the first time since Hinaut where a GT winner is a serious contender
Giro was interesting with many unexpected turns
Vuelta was closer than any Roglic edition

Pretty interesting year tbh

...if you like seeing two mutants, destroy everything, it's great. I like Godzilla movies, but he destroys cities and fights other monsters. Pog and MVDP just destroy the question of who will win, way too far away from the finish. Terrible year for me. I think races need to start paying Pog to not show up.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Honestly, your posts are as entertaining as the racing, and even more so in some cases. Chapeau!!

Setting the bar low.

 

[dobrien]

Setting the bar low.

Oh come on!! I normally enjoy pretty intellectual entertainment but there is something about Unchained and the unfiltered stream of consciousness that is pretty good. NEVER dull, that is for sure.

 

[Cookster15]

Red Bull's tactics would have looked less silly if Roglic had gone on to finish on the podium.

Not sure Roglic has the legs. An underwhelming performance by all of Red Bull.

 

[Oldman]

5th win in 5 attempts for Pogačar in Il Lombardia, this is truly his race.10th monument win as well, so he is now more than half of the way done to catch Merckx record. Great work from his teammates to set him up with a special mention to Majka which will be dearly missed.

Remco once again second, it must start to become a bit frustating for him but he is in some of the best shape of his career which bodes well for next season.

Good for cycling to have an outsider like Storer on the podium, I didn't expect him to have this engine. Remarkable ride from Quinn Simmons too, this year he is climbing at a whole new level but today was still surprising.

Pidcock with a good 6th place after crashing earlier on and the young guns Del Toro, Seixas and Uijtdebroeks performing well too.

Disappointing performance from Roglič to finish up a difficult season. Red Bull's tactics today were also inexplicable.

The rise of the Young Guns this late in the season is a good sign the future will be interesting.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Did you watch EC and WC?

Those boys in light blue jerseys did control the race perfectly for Pogacar and setting him up nicely for attack in both EC and WC…

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

OK, so my live TV monument time was stolen from me, but It's just so efficient with Pogi; Exactly 15 secs past the point of my fast forwarding up to., he pulls the trigger.

But VOD feasability made me fast backward and following Simmons' journey. One of the most impressive efforts on the calendar!

 

[Andy262]

Did you watch EC and WC?

Of course I watched the WC? Do you think it likely that without UAE (and rather oddly Bora) drilling the peloton, the break might have got slightly more rope than the maximum 3.5 minutes they were allowed?

I’m not arguing there would be a different result but a comparison with country representation where teams are not as strong is not really valid.

UAE has a ridiculously strong team for GT and hilly classics. Packed with riders that would otherwise contend for podiums. Are you suggesting Pogacar doesn’t benefit from that?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

UAE has a ridiculously strong team for GT and hilly classics. Packed with riders that would otherwise contend for podiums. Are you suggesting Pogacar doesn’t benefit from that?

As strong team as UAE makes the probability of surprise basically zero in races like Liege and Lombardy. But yesterday it wasn't necessarily the case. They didn't drill as hard as last year for example. Sivakov alone was leading for a very long time. A weaker team could've done the job of controlling the break yesterday.

 

[HashRouge]

Of course I watched the WC? Do you think it likely that without UAE (and rather oddly Bora) drilling the peloton, the break might have got slightly more rope than the maximum 3.5 minutes they were allowed?

I’m not arguing there would be a different result but a comparison with country representation where teams are not as strong is not really valid.

UAE has a ridiculously strong team for GT and hilly classics. Packed with riders that would otherwise contend for podiums. Are you suggesting Pogacar doesn’t benefit from that?

He definitely does, I think some posters are just making the point that he doesn't necessarily need that team strength as we've seen him win big, multiple times, without it. I think the reality is that if UAE were weaker, someone else would step in to control the break because they always do.

 

[HashRouge]

Bummed Simmons was not rewarded with a podium after such a great ride, but he has improved massively this season and is on a great trajectory. A very long race and he dusted some seriously strong riders. He is going to get a big one next season if he keeps this up; chapeau!!

I said the same thing to my sister yesterday. I think he has some big wins ahead of him, but he perhaps just needs to ride a little bit smarter. I know he's controversial, but trying to be objective and just judge him based on what he shows on the road, it would be good to see him take a GT stage or decent one day win.