Tadej Pogacar happy with "good performance ahead of Il Lombardia"

Tadej Pogacar is ready to attempt to defend his title at Il Lombardia. The UAE Team Emirates rider had shown good form ahead of the final monument of the season, and today at Tre Valli Varesine he took the win in a reduced group sprint.

“I am very happy for the victory. It was a very fast race, the team worked well to keep the group together in the final, especially Diego Ulissi was exceptional," Pogacar said in a post-race interview. The hilly race saw plenty attacks throughout the afternoon, however the lack of gradient in the climbs saw a 22-rider group head towards the finish to fight for the win.

"The sprint was the best option for me in the final stages of the race, everything went perfectly," he described, having beaten Sergio Higuita and Alejandro Valverde in direct confrontation at the finish in Varese.

It is a good performance ahead of Il Lombardia: it will be more difficult than last year, but we will try as always to give our best," he concluded. Pogacar rode to second at the Giro dell'Emilia earlier this week, and will be concluding his season this Saturday.

Pogacar won the 2021 Il Lombardia edition after a late attack at the Passo Di Ganda. The route will be very different this year, but the hilly route and almost 5000 meters of climbing into Como will favour the Slovenian.