Tadej Pogacar finished his historic 2024 season in typically scintillating style at Il Lombardia, picking up his second monument victory of the campaign ahead of Remco Evenepoel. Afterwards, the Belgian was left stunned by his rival's performance.
"He went seven kilometres from the top (of Colma di Sormano ed.) and he had a minute there," Evenepoel recalls in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. Although the best time trialist in the world, Evenepoel couldn't bring back any time on Pogacar over the subsequent flat. "But in the valley, actually a bit ahead of me, he rode away another two minutes. At such moments you realise that he is the best rider in the world and that he is slowly becoming the best ever."
Although Evenepoel was a clear second, finishing well ahead of the race for 3rd, the Soudal - Quick-Step leader was in turn, clearly distanced by Pogacar by the time the finish line arrived. "There was about an Instagram post by Velon with his average wattage of the last hour and a half. That couldn't be right, because I had the same wattage and was three minutes behind. So I sent him: I want to know what you really pedalled," recalls Evenepoel. "Tadej didn't tell me, but it was a joking and sarcastic question. We send each other jovial messages every now and then. When one of us has a birthday, for example. He's not my best friend, but he is a good colleague friend."
Given their close bond though, and the fact the pair have faced off numerous times on the road of late, Evenepoel is beginning to be able to predict when a Pogacar attack is coming. Doing something about it though, is altogether more difficult.
"The four or five minutes before he attacked, his team accelerated," Evenepoel recalls. "You could feel that he was going to accelerate after that, but at that moment I was already at the limit. During his attack, he quickly added a minute, that says enough."
The podium of the 2024 Il Lombardia is a dream for the organizers: the world champion, the Olympic champion and an Italian rider. 🥇 🇸🇮 Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 🏆 🥈 🇧🇪 Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) 🥉 🇮🇹 Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) #iLombardia
