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Samuel Sanchez is a rider who knows Il Lombardia well. During his career, he finished second twice and once third in the monument. Having just watched Tadej Pogacar dominate the 2024 edition though, the Spaniard was left in disbelief.In 2006, Sanchez finished 8" behind Paolo Bettini, beating Fabian...

Embed from Getty ImagesThe inevitable result, achieved through the most probable tactics: Tadej Pogaar wins Il Lombardia with an attack on the Colma di Sormano with 48km to go. The lack of surprise extended to his nearest rivals who did not dare to follow him, as if theyd decided to settle for second place already.Embed from Getty ImagesMany a team took to the start knowing if they didnt try something different then the result would be obvious. The race raged for the first two hours. Many a team briefing will have insisted on sending a rider or two up the road early in the hope of avoiding a direct confrontation with Pogaar and so the morning break was a constellation of strong names.Finally a group of 22 riders coalesced in time for the Valpiana climb at which point they had two minutes, with the bunch led by UAEs Jan Christen. Among those up the road were Eddie Dunbar (Jayco), Dani Martinez (RedBull), Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-Quickstep), Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ), Thymen Arensman (Ineos), Tiesj Benoot and Wilco Kelderman (Visma-LAB), Matej Mohori and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain) although the latter paid for the efforts just to get there and would soon be dropped.Embed from Getty ImagesThe breakaways lead kept rising with Christen and Finn Fisher-Black tasked with chasing. Three minutes. Four. Four and half. That was substantial and in the moment it looked like a lot for UAE to bring back, especially as they were lacking the likes of Mikkel Bjerg or Brandon McNulty. The was peak suspense for the day. The gap was boosted by a toilet stop for Pogaar and team mates.UAE massed on the climb to the Ghisallo climb and Rafa Majka led the charge. The breakaways lead was down to two minutes as the chapels bells rang out with Molard leading the way. With the descent and the scenic tour around the shore of the lake done the gap was just one minute at foot of the Colma di Sormano.Here the breakaway split with riders launching, but rather than making winning moves they seemed to be scattering uphill like beach-goers fleeing an approaching tsunami, just trying to postpone the inevitable moment they would be caught.Giulio Ciccone made a move from the bunch but Pavel Sivakov pulled him back and when the Frenchman stood up the pedals soon after to squeeze out the last few watts you could tell what was coming next.Embed from Getty ImagesWhen it came there was no response from the others. Pogaar just rode away, flamboyant in white shorts, his upper body seemingly rocking in different time to his cadence, like some jazz beat.Embed from Getty ImagesThis was always the most likely scenario, the long climb suiting Pogaar and once away no teams would be left to chase. If Remco Evenepoel and Enric Mas could not follow, they still distanced the rest. Lennert Van Eetvelt joined them to make a trio.Embed from Getty ImagesEvenepoels lack of reaction to Pogaar could be seen as a resignation but arguably a sign of wisdom. Indeed if the Slovenian is a better climber theyre a lot more similar downhill or on the flat and the Belgian tried to set off in pursuit once the Sormano was done. However this time he could not take back time.Embed from Getty ImagesIn the streets of Como Pogaar had time to coast and celebrate. He crossed the line, dismounted and raised his bike in the air. Still brandishing his bike, he turned around to look down the finishing straight and still no rival was in sight. Evenpoel arrived over three minutes down, then Giulio Ciccone secured third place thanks to a late move.Embed from Getty ImagesThe VerdictCertainly predictable, seemingly inevitable. Watching live there was a moment of doubt as the breakaway kept taking time and UAE alone were left to chase but with still 100km to go the suspense cooled.Tadej Pogaar finishes his season with his 25th win. Numerically, superficially compares to the modern day record set by Alessandro Petacchi in 2005. But feel the width: in a season of just 58 race days hes won two grand tours, two monuments, the worlds; then explore each race where hes often finished several minutes ahead, including the 3m16s margin here in Como. A year ago Pogaar still looked like he and his team could improve and weve seen this in evidence since. Pogaar hasnt yet completed road cycling but hes not far off, a win in Sanremo, Roubaix and two more in Paris all feel eminently achievable today. But nothings certain, indeed just repeating some of this years results could impress next year; rivals can only hope for this.Remco Evenepoel finishes a creditable second. With his Olympic double, a TT rainbow jersey and a podium in the Tour de France this will be a season to savour, especially for the way it was built out of rehab from the Basque crash. But at some point before the year ends he and his entourage will have to think where to go next year and like most others, to find some races Pogaar isnt doing even if hell relish the challenge at times too.Finally a verbal salute for Domenico Pozzovivo who finished his final Lombardia aged 41. He rode his first Giro di Lombardia in 2005 and has had three top tens. He would have had an unbroken run of starts if his team had been picked in 2009 until 2019, the year when he had a horror crash in training.The post The Moment Il Lombardia Was Won first appeared on The Inner Ring.

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Lars van der Haar has taken victory atExact Cross Beringen 2024 from Michael Vanthourenhout, although in truth, the race was overshadowed by a nasty mid-race spat between Eli Iserbyt and Ryan Kamp.After the first lap, Toon Vandebosch led the way, not by much though, ahead of the chasing group head...

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One of the more senior statesmen of the cyclocross field, Lars van der Haar proved he still has plenty left in the tank on Saturday afternoon in Beringen, timing his late attack to perfection to snatch victory from European champion Michael Vanthourenhout on the final lap.I was a bit breathless at...

For the fourth year running, Tadej Pogacar has thundered to victory at Il Lombardia, this time by around three minutes from second placed Remco Evenepoel, writing yet another glorious chapter in his incredible 2024 season.A big, more than 20-man strong group rode clear early on, including notable...

Allene,The Bike Easy Bicycle Second Line is one week away, and the Silent Auction is Live!We are excited to launch this years Silent Auction alongside the Bike Easy Bicycle Second Line! This virtual silent auction will be live untilMonday, October 21st at midnight. Over the next week we hope youll take a look at the Silent Auction Website, Register, and Bid on your favorite items!A huge thank you to all of our friends and partners who donated to this years Silent Auction! All of the proceeds from this silent auction will go to support Bike Easys operations and core pillars: education, advocacy, community, and capacity building.How to Register & Start Bidding!Go tohttps://app.galabid.com/secondline2024Click on the Register buttonFollow the instructions to complete registrationA couple of quick tipsAs you start to bid, keep an eye on youremailfor updates on your items.This auction is open toeveryone, even if you are out of town or cant be with us next Saturday!Once the auction closes, we will be in touch on how to collect your items.Any questions at all, Galabid has a very robustFAQ page.We will have many of these items at the Bicycle Second Line next Saturday, and can assist you there as well! Feel free to reach out toinfo@bikeeasy.organd we can assist!Start bidding today!We cant wait for next weekend! We hope to see you next Saturday & Happy Bidding! Remember to RSVPhere.