Tadej Pogačar Makes History with Fourth Consecutive Il Lombardia Win
COMO, Italy (October 12, 2024) – Tadej Pogačar solidified his place in cycling history by winning his fourth consecutive Il Lombardia, becoming the first rider ever to achieve this feat after also claiming victory at the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and the UCI World Championships in a single year. His dominant performance saw him launch a solo attack with 48km to go, ultimately crossing the finish line with a commanding lead of 3 minutes and 16 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, Remco Evenepoel. Italy’s Giulio Ciccone completed the podium.
Pogačar’s decisive move came on the infamous Sormano climb, where he left behind Evenepoel and the rest of the peloton. Despite a valiant chase by the Belgian, Pogačar extended his lead, making his victory inevitable. Ciccone, who attacked from the chasing group, finished third, securing a spot alongside two of cycling’s biggest stars.
Final Results
-
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) – 255 km in 6h04’58”, average speed 41.921 km/h
- Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) +3’16”
- Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +4’31”
- Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) +4’34”
- Enric Mas (Movistar Team) s.t.
Post-Race Reactions
Pogačar expressed his joy during the press conference: “It has been a perfect season, and I have chosen to celebrate in the same way as I did at Strade Bianche, when I won my first race of 2024. Every victory is special, but to win with this jersey on it’s amazing. It was great to feel all the supporters cheering for me along the roads, and I enjoyed every single moment of the race. My team has made a perfect job, they are all great professionals and their support has been amazing all along the season. Remco Evenepoel did also a great race, I know that in the future he can win Il Lombardia. This was the best way of finishing this year, now it’s holidays time and then I will think to the challenges of 2025.”
Runner-up Remco Evenepoel was gracious in defeat, acknowledging Pogačar’s superiority: “It feels like a personal victory. Everyone knows how it ended the last time we raced from Bergamo to Como. To finish best of the rest, after Tadej Pogačar, makes me proud. I have to be realistic, it feels really good to be second today. We kind of knew and predicted how and where Tadej would go. 3km after the bridge where I crashed four years ago was the hardest part of the climb. That’s where he went. I just did my own pace to the top. I tried to limit the time loss towards Tadej. I knew the descent pretty well. I dropped the others. Then it was kind of a time trial against the others. I was actually dying in the last few kilometres. Everybody saw who is the best rider of the moment. He deserves the win today. This is one of my first good results in Italy. It gives me the morale and confidence to come back to this country with a better shape and win. It’s also a good way to end my season.”
Giulio Ciccone was thrilled to stand on the podium, stating: “It feels really good to stand on the podium with the world champion and the Olympic champion. It’s a good way to end the season because it’s been a hard season for me. I was feeling very good today on the climbs and I made a little mistake to attack. Bauke Mollema did a great job for me then i attacked on the San Fermo della Battaglia and got a bit of a gap to reach the finish with the podium in mind. I really enjoyed the last kilometres. Il Lombardia is one of my favourite races. It’s my dream to win it one day but to finish third behind those guys is already satisfactory.”
Historic Feats
- Pogačar is now the first cyclist to win the Giro, Tour, World Championships, and Il Lombardia in the same year.
- He joins cycling legend Fausto Coppi (1946-1949) as the only rider to win Il Lombardia four times consecutively.
- Tadej Pogačar is the first reigning world champion to win Il Lombardia since Paolo Bettini in 2006.
- This marks the first time the reigning world champion and Olympic champion (Evenepoel) finished first and second at Il Lombardia.
- Pogačar’s solo attack was the longest winning break at Il Lombardia since 1989, when Tony Rominger broke away for 114km.
- 3’16” is the biggest gap between first and second since 1971 (3’31” between Eddy Merckx and Franco Bitossi).
As the season wraps up, Pogačar’s victory at the 118th edition of Il Lombardia cements his status as the top rider in the world.
