Milan-Sanremo underrated !

[El Pistolero]

But then you look at when they won those Lomardia editions;

Bartoli won LBL in 1997 and 1998, wasn't strong enough to win it after that , but won Lombardia in 2002 and 2003.

Bettini won LBL in 2000 and 2002, but couldn't win it after that. Was good enough to win Lombardia in 2005 and 2006.

Cunego, beaten in LBL every year, but somehow good enough to win Lombardia 3 times.

Gilbert, won Lombardia twice, but couldn't do better than place 4 in LBL in those years.

Ergo: the Giro di Lombardia, because of his spot on the calender, has become the domain of classic specialists that are over their peak (Bartoli, Bettini), or guys who aren't good enough (yet) to win LBL (Cunego, Di Luca, Gilbert).

Gilbert has been wise to copy Bettini's schedule of his last season's. Peak in the spring, take a break during the middle part of the season, and reach your spring shape again at the end of the year. Riding against a tired and unmotivated peloton, you can win a lot in autumn using this strategy.

Di Luca won LBL. Bettini wasn't over his peak. He lost the worlds many times by a small margin in the early 2000s, yet won in 2006 and 2007. I hardly call that over his peak

Bettini came second in LBL 2006. Got outsprinted by Valverde.

Just sayin'

And Bartoli suffered from a lot of injuries after VDB made him look like a complete fool on la Redoute. I wouldn't rate Gilbert's chances lower than Kolobnev @ LBL for example. Valverde is out of the picture this year, so only Vino(who shows complete lack of form so far) and Kolobnev were in front of him. But I do agree that LBL is harder and more prestigious to win. They both are hilly classics, but the profile is totally different. LBL has a quick succession of many hills which makes it harder.

 

[ultimobici]

But then you look at when they won those Lomardia editions;

Bartoli won LBL in 1997 and 1998, wasn't strong enough to win it after that , but won Lombardia in 2002 and 2003.

Bettini won LBL in 2000 and 2002, but couldn't win it after that. Was good enough to win Lombardia in 2005 and 2006.

Cunego, beaten in LBL every year, but somehow good enough to win Lombardia 3 times.

Gilbert, won Lombardia twice, but couldn't do better than place 4 in LBL in those years.

Ergo: the Giro di Lombardia, because of his spot on the calender, has become the domain of classic specialists that are over their peak (Bartoli, Bettini), or guys who aren't good enough (yet) to win LBL (Cunego, Di Luca, Gilbert).

Gilbert has been wise to copy Bettini's schedule of his last season's. Peak in the spring, take a break during the middle part of the season, and reach your spring shape again at the end of the year. Riding against a tired and unmotivated peloton, you can win a lot in autumn using this strategy.

Cycling has one of the longest seasons in sport, so to expect riders to perform all year long now is unreasonable. Lombardia is a unique race as are all the other Monuments. It is hilly with narrow twisting descents and unpredictable weather thrown in for good measure.

You contend that riders either have to be past their peak or on the rise to win. But look at 2010's top 10.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/giro-di-lombardia-his-2/results

1 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 6:46:32
2 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:00:12
3 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:00:55
4 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:08
5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
6 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:12
7 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:02:07
8 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:03:01
9 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step 0:03:25
10 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha 0:03:50

You have Nibali, who won the Vuelta and was very active in the Giro, and Sanchez, who was all over the Tour, finishing in the top 10. Who knows where Nibali would have finished had he not crashed on the descent of the Sormano.

Of 200 riders only 34 finished, so it's hardly a walk in the park as a race. It is no wonder that certain riders don't even bother to turn up. Boonen & Cancellara weren't there. The former will never win it and IMO neither will the latter. It is a race that is steeped in history and has a course that has always challenged the winner. Looking back over the years, I cannot think of a single year I have seen it where the winner elicited a "How the hell did that happen?"

It is a race for the crafty tactician like Gilbert, Kelly, Bettini or Mottet. Riders who can climb well, are tough enough to withstand the elements and are powerful enough to make an attack stick. But they also need to have the mental strength to wait until the right moment to strike. Lombardia's course is too hard to allow multiple attacks. Last year people thought that the last 35km from Nesso into Como was flat so it was discounted. What the profile didn't show was that it was constantly up and down & twisting on roads that were narrow and, in places, poorly surfaced. After making the pace up to the Sormano, Scarponi was gapped by Gilbert & Nibali and had to chase Gilbert all the way to Como. By the time he'd got up to Gilbert he had nothing left in the tank. So when Gilbert put his attack in over the top of San Fermo della Battaglia he had no response.

Take a trip out to Lombardia any year and you will be richly rewarded by the race. And while you're there take a look at the crowds that are out on the climbs. They're big on all of them. Last year in the pouring rain it was still that way. That says enough about its importance.

 

[Matthijs]

Perhaps they should only allow 6 cyclists per team for the classics. WOULD WORK A LOT BETTER THEN DITCHING THE RADIOS.

hear hear
someone who understands cycling after all!

 

[Matthijs]

But then you look at when they won those Lomardia editions;

Bartoli won LBL in 1997 and 1998, wasn't strong enough to win it after that , but won Lombardia in 2002 and 2003.

Bettini won LBL in 2000 and 2002, but couldn't win it after that. Was good enough to win Lombardia in 2005 and 2006.

Cunego, beaten in LBL every year, but somehow good enough to win Lombardia 3 times.

Gilbert, won Lombardia twice, but couldn't do better than place 4 in LBL in those years.

Ergo: the Giro di Lombardia, because of his spot on the calender, has become the domain of classic specialists that are over their peak (Bartoli, Bettini), or guys who aren't good enough (yet) to win LBL (Cunego, Di Luca, Gilbert).

Gilbert has been wise to copy Bettini's schedule of his last season's. Peak in the spring, take a break during the middle part of the season, and reach your spring shape again at the end of the year. Riding against a tired and unmotivated peloton, you can win a lot in autumn using this strategy.

Yeah, like Bartoli, DiLuca, Cunego didn't prove themselves at Amstel Gold Race.
Bettini over his peak at his WC's?
Italians win and peak more in a Monument on home soil? OMG!

I understand your point, Lombardia isn't contested as LBL. But this is not the best way to illustrate this claim...