The last Monument of the season takes place on Saturday in northern Italy, where Thibaut Pinot will say goodbye. Complete presentation of the 2023 edition.
Two names are attracting all the light at the dawn of the Tour of Lombardy 2023, this Saturday October 7. Tadej Pogacar has won the last two editions and is aiming for an unprecedented hat-trick since Fausto Coppi (5 victories including 4 in a row between 1946 and 1949). Thibaut Pinot will bow out of the race which gave him the greatest victory of his career in 2018, when he set off alone in the Civiglio, letting go of the Messina Shark Vincenzo Nibali to win the only Monument on his record. On Saturday, Pinot and his fans, who will be present in large numbers on the side of the road, will inevitably dream of turning this great page in French cycling in the most beautiful way: with their arms raised to the sky as they cross the line.
The undisputed favorite remains Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). The reigning double winner has further added to his list of achievements this year: Tour of Flanders, Flèche Wallonne, Amstel Gold Race and two stages of the Tour de France. But he remains with two frustrating results, with his second place at the Tour de France and his bronze medal at the world championships. He arrives in Italy with a vengeance, and surrounded by a great team. His main competitor will surely be another Slovenian, Primoz Roglic, for his last race in the Jumbo Visma jersey. Winner at the Tour of Emilia a few days ago in front of most of the favorites from Lombardy, the recent third in the Tour of Spain will have the opportunity to add a second Monument to his list of achievements after Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2020.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who also competed in the Vuelta, will be another serious competitor for the final victory, he who has never won the event. His future is uncertain since his team should be absorbed by Jumbo Visma, and he will want to offer one last big victory to a legendary team in the world of cycling. As for the outsiders, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) will be one of the main dangers, he who arrives fresh at the end of the season after a fractured kneecap during the Tour de France. Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) and Enric Mas (Movistar) could also join the fight, as could Adam Yates and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) if their leader Tadej Pogacar gives them the opportunity.
The Tour of Lombardy traditionally concludes the cycling season and allows riders who are in late peak form or who have suffered injuries during the year to shine. The first edition of this legendary race, considered the fifth Monument, took place in 1905. Since its creation, the Tour of Lombardy is the most popular classic because only the 1943 and 1944 editions were canceled in reason for the war. She has often smiled on the great Italian runners: Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Alfredo Binda and more recently Paolo Bettini, Danilo Di Luca and Vincenzo Nibali. But it is also a dream terrain for classics specialists, like Philippe Gilbert or Joaquim Rodriguez, and has crowned the greatest of this sport like Merckx and Hinault.
The route of the Tour of Lombardy 2023 takes the opposite route to last year, starting from Como to arrive in Bergamo, and reconnects, at the end, with the roads and passes which have made the recent history of the race. This year again, no Sornano, and a less explosive finale than last year, with the Passo della Crocetta (11.6 km at 5.8%) and the Passo di Ganda (9.3 km at 7.1% ) in justices of the peace, before the Colle Aperto (1.3 km at 6.9%) as the last difficulty three kilometers from the finish line. Also back to a flatter start to the race, unlike last year.
The favorite teams should start the race from the Passo della Crocetta before more serious attempts by the leaders in the Passo di Ganda, where the winner could already fly away because the summit is 31 kilometers from the finish. Otherwise, the Colle Aperto will decide the fate of the race, short of a small group sprint.
Here is the complete list of riders participating in this new edition of the Tour of Lombardy:
The Italian cycling race will take place on Saturday October 7, 2023 with a morning start and a mid-afternoon finish (between 4:50 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. depending on the speed of the riders).
The Italian classic will be followed in full on the Eurosport channels, and in particular on Eurosport 2 live from the start at 10:30 a.m.
