The race of the falling leaves

[Rás Cnoic]

Tomorrow is the 119th edition of Giro Di Lombardia or Classica delle foglie morte. The last Monument of the season & the final race that means anything before they all reconvene in Oz for the first race of the year at Tour Down Under on the 20th January 2026. The favourite? Who else but Pog. Will he attack early? Probably? Will the others let him go/are unable to go with him? Probably! Will there be an upset? Hope so!

Here's the list of favourites. Most of the gang is here. Look at the points difference between Pog and everyone else. 19th year old French new hope Paul Seixas is also starting. They are so young these days.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Can't wait till the race! Interesting to see Powless so high in both points rankings. He's a solid and thoughtful rider, and I really enjoy hearing him interviewed. But callers rarely mention him.

Guess he's doing good things under the radar.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Can't wait till the race! Interesting to see Powless so high in both points rankings. He's a solid and thoughtful rider, and I really enjoy hearing him interviewed. But callers rarely mention him.

Guess he's doing good things under the radar.

There's a lot of 'top ten' riders here for sure. These are the ones who have the sharpness that on the right day, right conditions, bit of luck could grab a victory and we'd not be that surprised. The Pog factor unfortunately makes this more difficult. But it's a long race, anything can happen.

 

[stompandgo]

I like Pidcock or Healy for the upset or 2nd.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

I like Pidcock or Healy for the upset or 2nd.

Both were there or thereabouts, Pidcock finishing top ten, but it was Quinn Simmons who went the hardest. God loves a tryer and Simmons for sure will give it a go, He held Pog & co at 3 mins for a long long time, was he being dangled or were they getting worried? UAE pulled and pulled killing Healy and all other wannabe attackers in the process and suddenly on the last climb Pog changed up a gear danced lightly on the pedals and it seemed seconds before he caught and passed Simmons, rest is history.

Talk now all about transfers, INEOS have swept up Kévin Vauquelin, gives them some TdF firepower, he gets a team long designed for TdF success if a bit dodgy on the funding side, Man United getting all the Jim Radcliffe love, Remco to an (overcrowded?) Redbull Bora, interesting Roglic tantrums ahead? Cian Uijtdebroeks leaves Visma for Movistar, bit of a surprise that one, a young rider storming out of the under23s mentored by Bora then jumped from Bora to Visma with much acrimony and legal battles and now without any fuss just a 'we wish him well' to Movistar. The Spaniards need new climber/GC desparately with really only the reliable Enric Mas and being a shadow of their former selves and Cian is a top ten probably top five grand tour finisher. I guess Visma was too overcrowded/heated for him, Movistar would promise everything plus $$$$ and a second in command role at least. Speaking of overcrowded, Juan Ayuso to Lidl Trek. Not a surprise after the La Vuelta shenanigans.

Interesting stories ahead for '26. And young 19 year old Paul Seixas continued his blazing arrival in the grown up world with a 7th place in Il Lombardia after his 3rd in the European Road Race the weekend before. So Bora have Remco, Roglic and the new pretender Seixas to Handle With Care. Onley, Seixas, Del Toro (6th Il Lombardia), Ayuso, Got a good batch of youngsters to watch next year!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Just rewatched the last 80 km. What a treat to watch Pogi devour the final descent and slalom the streets of Bergamot! Total flow. Monuments Man indeed.

This one clearly meant a lot to Pogi. Never saw such big, happy grins on his face before and after a finish line. And not for lack of opportunity.

And what a treat ogling that gorgeous Lake District scenery in fall color!

Doesn't get much better than that.

Also a pleasure to watch exceptional performances by UAE teamates, Simmons, Storer, and Evenepoel. Wish I'd paid more attention to retiring Rafal Majka. Lots of respect from everyone, especially teammate Pogacar.

Hope Carapaz is OK. Very slow to disentangle from his upside down bike againt the inside cliff face.