On the banks of Lake Como, where the 118th edition of the “dead leaves classic” will take place, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, three outgoing winner, can write a new chapter of his book “In pursuit of the greatest” of cycling by equaling Fausto Coppi, the “Campionissimo”, the only one to have won the race four years in a row, at the end of the 1940s.
Because he feels that “the legs are still very good” at the start of the most mountainous of the five Monuments, while his rivals like Remco Evenepoel start to ride on the rim and that Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel or Julian Alaphilippe are already on vacation.
But above all because it has changed dimension again in 2024 to reach a stratospheric level allowing it to sign one of the greatest seasons of all time.
At the Tour of Lombardy, on a new but still very difficult route, everyone is expecting a new recital from the Slovenian. The main – if not the only – question seems to relate to the precise location between Bergamo and Como where he will place his acceleration.
The Sormano pass (12.9 km at 6.4%) flashes red on all radars. We will then be a little less than fifty kilometers from the finish. A distance that has become commonplace for Pogacar 2024.
The 2024 Tour of Lombardy will be followed live on Eurosport 2 from 10:25 a.m.
