"Tadej's attack was so hard that it was impossible to react" - Evenepoel settles for second at Il Lombardia and rues late incident with motorbikes

Remco Evenepoel's last race as a Soudal - Quick-Step rider was Il Lombardia 2025. held this Saturday. The Belgian was unable to beat Tadej Pogacar once again and came a distant second from the World Champion, but continued to show his best level in a finale where he was even blocked by two bikes on the final climb and had to stop.

The Slovenian attacked with 37 kilometers to go and at that point not Evenepoel nor anyone else tried to follow the Slovenian. The difference in pace was just too big and unlike the Europeans, Evenepoel had no chance of following.

The beginning of the race saw the Belgian team place Louis Vervaeke in the front group, but ultimately it was a move that had no reward. Evenepoel managed to drop Michael Storer and Quinn Simmons at the summit of Passo di Ganda and the beginning of the descent, riding himself into a second place that confirms his status as an absolute world-class climber.

"What am I going to remember about this race? Maybe that two TV bikes almost crashed into each other when I was on the last climb of the day," he said in a post-race interview. "It was pretty tense, especially since I was going pretty fast. They had to stop on a 15% ramp, and I was forced to brake as well. It was a moment of panic, but luckily my lead over Michael Storer was enough".

But, as mentioned, Remco Evenepoel wanted to stay with Soudal Quick-Step's good performance during the race, highlighting the work of Mattia Cattaneo and Mikel Landa to always keep him well positioned: "The day was very good. We managed to get a teammate into the breakaway, which was the initial goal. Mattia Cattaneo, Mikel Landa and the rest of the teammates managed to guide me through the rest, so I didn't have to worry about positioning. We have nothing to regret, we did everything right. But Tadej's attack was so hard that it was impossible to react," he added.

He was for the third week in a row the only man to come minimally close to Pogacar, but the climbing level of the UAE Team Emirates rider is simply too high for anyone at the moent. "It's true that I finished less time behind Pogacar than last year. Today the gap didn't grow so much," he said.

"I'm very happy with the way I've raced the last month and a half. It makes me happy to be able to finish my season and my time as a Soudal Quick-Step rider in this way. I'm proud to have been able to lead this team once again".