After more Pogacar dominance at Il Lombardia, Remco Evenepoel insists "If anyone can close the gap, it's me"

Despite being far better than the rest of the pack at Il Lombardia 2024, Remco Evenepoel himself was dominated once again by Tadej Pogacar. Nevertheless, the Belgian leaves Italy somewhat contented by his efforts.

“I am very satisfied,” insists a smiling Soudal - Quick-Step leader in his post-race interview, having come home around three minutes down on his race-winning rival. “I got the most out of it. Tadej was outstanding again and I finished far ahead of the rest behind me. A bit in line with the Tour de France, actually.”

Although everyone in the race expected a Pogacar attack on the Colma di Sormano, once it came, Evenepoel was simply unable to react to the sheer brutality of the Slovenian's acceleration. "He went on the steepest part and I knew immediately that I couldn't blow myself up," Evenepoel explains. "That turned out to be the right choice. After that I took quite a few risks downhill and that way I was able to increase my lead on Enric Mas and Lennert van Eetvelt. If you come second with a big gap to the winner but also a big lead on the third, then no mistakes have been made."

So again, it's a distant second behind Evenepoel. As such, he feels there is certainly room to improve ahead of next season despite his own individual brilliance in 2024. "I just have to accept that. It's been like that all season, right? The thing now is to work hard throughout the winter and try to close the gap. If anyone has that in them, it's me," the Belgian puts forward determinedly. "I just have to keep the confidence in myself and the team and not lose hope."

First though, time for some well-earned rest. “It has been a long season, especially without a break in the middle of the season because of that crash. At the beginning of the week it didn't look so good, but today I had a good day again. That shows that the form is not gone. That is positive for next year. If I can get through the season without problems, I can compete for the win here,” he concludes.