Il Lombardia closes Monument calendar without Pogačar

Monument finale

Il Lombardia, the 'Race of the Falling Leaves', closes the Monument calendar, and the PezCycling News preview frames it around the race's usual selective ingredients: punishing climbs around Lake Como and Bergamo, and a history stretching back to 1905.

The major competitive wrinkle is the absence of Tadej Pogačar. After five straight wins, his not racing removes the rider who has defined the recent shape of the event. That matters tactically because a dominant favourite tends to simplify the race: rivals either wait for his move, mark his team, or race defensively around his expected acceleration. Without that reference point, the decisive climbing phases are less likely to be organised around one rider's timing.

Why it matters

For a data-driven cyclist, the takeaway is that route character and field composition are inseparable. Lombardia's climbs already reward repeatability and late-race resilience; remove the recent serial winner, and the same terrain can produce a different tactical pattern.

Full details are at the linked source.