“An incredible finale to my career” - Three-time Grand Tour stage winner bows out with stunning Il Lombardia top 10 in last-ever race
Cycling
Pello Bilbao has brought down the curtain on his professional career with a remarkable seventh-place finish at Il Lombardia, staying with the front group deep into his final race before signing off in Como.
The 36-year-old, a three-time Grand Tour stage winner, remained in contention long after many of the pre-race favourites had begun to fade and eventually crossed the line 1:20 behind winner Paul Seixas.
For Bilbao, though, the day had already become an emotional one before the racing had even started.
“I was convinced. I had a special feeling,” he told Cycling Pro Net afterwards. “I was racing with big emotions already. There were big surprises from the morning. My kids and my wife came here unexpectedly and joined the team meeting in the bus. That was a great surprise.”
One last fight with the best
Bilbao was still there as the decisive phase of the race took shape around Civiglio and San Fermo della Battaglia, eventually finishing in the same group as Remco Evenepoel, Brandon McNulty and Tom Pidcock.
He had wanted his final day as a professional to end with exactly that kind of fight. “My biggest win in my career is what I'm feeling right now, the support of the team, how they appreciate me,” Bilbao said. “This was such a great feeling and I wanted to finish like this, at the top level, fighting until the end and enjoying cycling.”
The Basque rider had spent much of the day trying to keep the emotion under control, aware that letting the occasion take over could affect the way he raced.
“I didn't have a lot of time to think and I was trying to leave these emotions there because I know sometimes when I race too emotional, I make mistakes,” he explained. “Today I could hold these emotions till the final and focus and just think that these were going to be my last moments of suffering on a bike.”
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“An incredible finale to my career”
Bilbao did not ride his final kilometres conservatively. He remained part of the chasing group into the closing stages and was still taking risks on the descents as the race headed towards Como.
“I really enjoyed it. I was part of the game till the end,” he said. “We risked it on the descents. We went full. I was there with the big guys and, yeah, this was an incredible finale to my career.”
Seventh place brought an end to a career that included three Grand Tour stage victories and repeated high finishes in some of the biggest races on the calendar.
Bilbao's final result was not a ceremonial roll across the line. He left the sport still racing at the front of one of its five Monuments.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Couldn’t agree more, @RidesHills. CyclingUpToDate endeavours to ban him, but he continues to create new accounts. He was banned from CyclingNews. Whilst I used to argue against his negativity, I’ve simply lost interest. He is so utterly boring. I was initially worried he'd bully other fans, but nobody's having it. Most of us simply pay him no mind, anymore. At this point, everybody just scrolls right past him. He is quite a coward though, I’ll tell you that. His toxic comments on this site are nothing compared to what he is able to post on Twitter.anonymouscyclist10-10-2026
- C’mon, don’t follow in Horner’s footsteps. At least he had the courage to post HIS prediction ahead, I didn’t see many others disagreeing or claiming it was ridiculous.Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- @SLO: Your ridiculously rude language about riders makes it really hard to read your consistently condescending comments. "BS losers," how is it ok to talk about people like that? Also, you truly sound like you do not understand that this is a team sport, where del Toro rides for his leader and therefore doesn't follow his attacks. We can all agree that we are watching a once in a generation (really, a once in a century) rider in Pogačar, and that's great, but come on, you don't have to be a jerk when it comes to other riders. It's clear that I prefer to praise the positive in what I see, mostly because I am in awe of what these humans can do (including the ones who don't win), but your negativity about anyone but your idol is just so very very exhausting.RidesHills10-10-2026
- Huh??? You’ve obviously forgotten all the contrary you’ve been trying to sell us the last weeks. Shall I dig some out for you?Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- Doesn’t sound like it from his post-race interview. That old record you’re still playing is starting to jump a bit too often.Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- Sorry but who is this guy? If HE doesn’t know that « much » about Seixas by now, I’m recalibrating my opinion of his finish line questioning. As for PS, the most amazing thing about him so far is not what he’s won or almost won at this age, although that’s already phenomenal, it’s how consistent, numerous and long this seasons’ results have been. I don’t think there’s ever been a 19/20 year old quite as developed. Of course, you can’t expect development at this level to go backwards in time but it’s amazing to witness a rider you assume won’t be able to keep things up forever prove you wrong.Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- I agree, it was a good feeling to end the season this way... and only hope the knee injury held Del Toro back. Some how I have a feeling it wasn't just that... I wish my feelings are wrong.PogiSloFans10-10-2026
- Seixas is an amazing rider. Remco disappointed. Del Toro should rather have withdrawn if he had an injury linked to over-training. Anyway, a satisfying end to the season.Hills3310-10-2026
- History books won't care who had good legs or bad legs, or who did or didn't get laid last night; what the history books say is that Del Toro and Remco are two losers, while Seixas is a Monument winner at the age of 20. Let's not forget who was the only one that could follow Pogi in Strade Bianche. Paul Seixas, not Del Toro. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans10-10-2026
- History books don't care who had good legs or bad legs, or who did or didn't get laid last night; what the history books say is that Del Toro and Remco are two BS losers, while Seixas is a Monument winner at the age of 20. Let's not forget who was the only one that could follow Pogi in Strade Bianche. Paul Seixas, not Del Toro.PogiSloFans10-10-2026
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